SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”
TEXT: ACTS 21:37-22:21
TITLE: “PAUL: MY ENCOUNTER WITH THE RESURRECTED CHRIST”
INTRODUCTION: A. You might remember a news story from several years ago where 18 men and 12
women committed mass suicide in a wealthy neighborhood outside of San Diego
1. They were led in that decision by a man who called himself “Do”
--His real name was Marshall Appelwhite – a former musician and choir director
who had a long history of mental problems.
2. They were all part of a cult called “Heaven’s Gate” that followed Appelwhite’s
teachings
a. Part of his teaching was that there was a space ship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet
b. This space ship was coming to pick up all of the faithful followers of this cult and
take them through “Heaven’s Gate”
c. In order to pass through into the next realm, Appelwhite taught that they must get
rid of their physical bodies so that their spirits would be ready for the journey
--To accomplish that feat, they all ate apple sauce laced with Phenobarbital and
drank large amounts of vodka – a very deadly combination
3. Sadly, each of the 18 men and 12 women were very intelligent and had much to
offer as people
--Yet they saw themselves as worthless outside of their bizarre religious rituals
B. False gods have always existed and will continue to exist until the end of the age
1. It seems a shame that people would throw away their lives for something that is
false
2. A bigger shame is that they refuse to accept something that is true
C. Christianity is the most historically and factually provable belief in the world
1. The evidence is extremely strong to support the most crucial points of Christianity:
the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
2. A Christian and a Muslim were discussing the concepts concerning their
individual beliefs. The Christian said, “We believe that God has given three
revelations of Himself to human beings.” The Muslim agreed: “We believe that,
too.”
The Christian continued, “We believe that God revealed Himself in creation.”
The Muslim agreed again, “We believe that, too.” The Christian went on, “We
believe that God revealed Himself in a book called the Bible.” The Muslim
countered, “We believe He revealed Himself in a book called the Koran.”
The Christian said, “We believe that God has revealed Himself in a person and
that person is Jesus Christ.” The Muslim replied, “We believe that God has
revealed Himself in a person and that person is Muhammad.”
The Christian pushed forward, “We believe that Jesus died to save His
followers.” The Muslim returned, “We believe that Muhammad died for his
people.” The Christian stated, “We believe that Jesus can give evidence of His
claims because He rose from the dead.” The Muslim hesitated for a moment, his
eyes fell to the ground and in a low voice he said, “We have no information
concerning our prophet after his death.”
3. Scholars have torn apart the evidence for the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus
a. They’ve scrutinized it under their scholastic microscopes
--When the evidence is examined in an honest way, they can come to only one
conclusion: the evidence is real
b. It passes all the guidelines for historical accuracy
c. It also passes all the criteria required to be entered into testimony in a court of
law as legal and best evidence
D. The best evidence of the reality of the resurrection is in the lives of Jesus’ followers
1. The people most closely associated with Jesus in the 1st century were all
persecuted, many tortured – all suffered, many put to death because of their
proclamation of a risen Jesus
2. They were eyewitnesses to everything that happened
--Why would they go through such things – suffer so terribly – just to die for a lie?
3. It was an encounter with this risen Jesus that took Saul of Tarsus and turned him
from being a persecutor of Christians into the apostle Paul – missionary for Jesus
Christ
4. Paul never got tired of relating his experience with the risen Christ
--Not only the experience on the road to Damascus but his experience with Jesus
every day since.
E. Last week, we left Paul after he’d been beaten half to death by an angry Jewish mob in
the Temple area
1. He had been falsely accused of blasphemy against God and against the Temple
--Several of the Jews had said that he taught against God’s law and that he brought
a Gentile into the inner courts of the Temple
2. Paul had to be rescued by a contingent of Roman soldiers who had a barracks
connected to the Temple
3. As we pick up the event tonight, we see them taking Paul into the barracks area but
Paul requests a chance to speak to these people
a. Beaten half to death, almost knocked out, Paul looks down at the angry mob that
had been trying to kill him and thinks, “Boy, what a chance to give my
testimony! What an opportunity to preach!”
b. Paul was thankful for what Jesus had done in his life and he wanted to share
with these people who had a deep need for what Paul had: an encounter with
the risen Christ that had turned his life around
--Let’s hear what Paul says
4. Acts 21:37-22:21 – “As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he
asked the commander, ‘May I say something to you?’ ‘Do you speak Greek? he
replied. ‘Aren’t you the Egyptian who started a revolt and led four thousand
terrorists out into the desert some time ago?’ Paul answered, ‘I am a Jew, from
Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city. Please let me speak to the people.’
Having received the commander’s permission, Paul stood on the steps and motioned
to the crowd. When they were all silent, he said to them in Aramaic: ‘Brothers and
fathers, listen now to my defense.’ When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic,
they became very quiet. Then Paul said: ‘I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but
brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our
fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today. I persecuted the
followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing
them into prison, as also the high priest and all the Council can testify. I even
obtained letters from them to their brothers in Damascus, and went there to bring
these people as prisoners to Jerusalem to be punished. About noon as I came near
Damascus, suddenly a bright light from heaven flashed around me. I fell to the
ground and heard a voice say to me, Saul! Saul! Why do you persecute me? Who
are you, Lord? I asked. I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting, he
replied. My companions saw the light, but they did not understand the voice of him
who was speaking to me. What shall I do, Lord? I asked. Get up, the Lord said, and
go into Damascus. There you will be told all that you have been assigned to do.
My companions led me by the hand into Damascus, because the brilliance of the
light had blinded me. 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. He stood
beside me and said, Brother Saul, receive your sight! And at that very moment I was
able to see him. Then he said: The God of our fathers has chosen you to know his
will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his
witness to all men of what you have seen and heard. And now what are you waiting
for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name. When I
returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance and saw the
Lord speaking. Quick! he said to me. Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they
will not accept your testimony about me. Lord, I replied, these men know that I went
from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you. And
when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval
and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him. Then the Lord said to me,
Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles’”.
I. I WAS CONCEITED
A. Saul of Tarsus saw himself as the answer to problems
1. His own problems – he trusted in his own goodness and righteousness
--Whatever he though was good for his life was what counted
2. Other peoples’ problems
--Whatever he thought was good for someone else was what counted
a. Saul saw himself as God’s gift to the synagogue
b. He was so zealous about his own opinion that he persecuted Christians “to the death”
B. Saul of Tarsus was proud of his heritage, his education, and his importance.
1. He was born in an important university town, raised in Jerusalem, and taught by one of the greatest
rabbis of his day – Gamaliel
2. Listen to how he describes his own conceit in Phil. 3:4b-6 – “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to
put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the
tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the
church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.”
3. A man brought his boss home one evening for dinner. The boss was very conceited, arrogant, and
domineering. The youngest, a boy aged 5, didn’t quite know how to take this man. He just stared at
his father’s boss for most of the evening but didn’t say anything
Finally, the boss asked the boy, “Why do you keep looking at me like that, sonny boy?” The little
boy replied, “My daddy say that you’re a self-made man.” The boss chuckled and pridefully said,
“That’s right, sonny boy. Everything I have and everything I am I did it myself. I’m truly a self-made
man!” You could tell the little boy was really agitated by this blow-hard and he looked squarely at his
dad’s boss and said, “If you’re a self-made man, why’d you make yourself like you are?”
II. I WAS CONFRONTED
A. Paul intended to enter Damascus in power and fury to “show the light” to the Christians but the Light of
the World struck him down
1. Saul of Tarsus, in arrogance and conceit, was going to teach those of “the Way” the right way
2. But the One who is the Way came to show him that he didn’t know as much as he thought
B. Anytime we come face to face with almighty God, we can’t help but see our own inadequacies
1. Is. 6:5 – When Isaiah was confronted with the presence of a holy God, he had to proclaim: “Woe is
me! I am ruined! I am a man of unclean lips and I live among a people of unclean lips.”
2. When Moses came into God’s presence, he had to take off his shoes because he was on holy ground
--On Mt. Sinai, he couldn’t meet God face-to-face. He had to keep his face hidden from God because
God was holy and Moses could only stay in God’s presence with his back turned.
3. On the Damascus road, Saul is stuck down by a blinding light and when the might voice of Jesus
speaks to him he asks: “Who are you, Lord?” and Jesus replied, “I am the same Jesus that your are
fighting against.”
III. I WAS CONVERTED
A. Realizing that he had been wrong, Saul repents of his arrogance and faith in his own abilities
1. He sees Jesus Christ as the answer to both his problems and the problems of others
2. He now recognizes “the way, truth, and the life”
--it’s in Jesus Christ
B. Quickly look at his conversion
--It follows the plan of salvation consistently provided in the book of Acts:
1. He place his faith in Jesus
--His hope and trust was in who Jesus proclaimed Himself to be – the promised Messiah. His hope
and trust is taken away from his own efforts and placed in what Jesus did for him in his death and
resurrection.
2. Saul repented of his past life apart from Christ
3. Confessed Jesus as his Lord
--Was a vocal admission of his change of attitude and heart
4. He was immersed in water for the remission of his sins
5. Accepted the call God had placed on his life for a particular position of service (ministry)
IV. I WAS CONSCRIPTED
A. “Conscripted” means “enrolled for mandatory service; a draft”
1. When we become Christians, God doesn’t give us a choice
--He has a position of service (ministry) in His kingdom
2. The old adage states it very plainly: “We are saved to serve.”
B. Paul didn’t get to choose his position of service (ministry)
--He was given a specific call: the apostle to the Gentiles (yet he never forgot his own people, the Jews;
always went to them first)
1. When we give our lives to Christ, God places a specific call on our lives: a call to service (ministry)
2. With this call to ministry, He provides different spiritual gifts to each person to help them perform
that call to ministry
--The Bible teaches that these gifts range all the way from “up front/out front” gifts such as teaching
and preaching to gifts that operate in the background of the Body of Christ, such as giving, showing
mercy, works of help, and encouragement
C. It’s important to clearly understand the importance of “saved to serve”
--If you’re a Christian, you were not called to be just a “pew potato”
1. You need to know that if you’re not faithful in using your gift for the kingdom, you’ll never find
satisfaction and peace in your life.
2. God has called you and gifted you to do something in the body of Christ
D. It’s also important to understand that no one (I repeat NO ONE) is insignificant in the body of Christ
1. Your gift is just as important as anyone else’s
2. Don’t let anyone try to convince you otherwise
CONCLUSION: A. Saul of Tarsus was going to go his own way
--He was going to live his life the way he saw fit; with himself in charge and with his
own righteousness
1. But he became the apostle Paul after an encounter with the risen Christ
--The risen Jesus had confronted his conceit and converted him and conscripted him
for service (ministry)
2. The apostle Paul was thankful for his encounter with the risen Christ
3. What are you thankful for this evening?
--Are you thankful for what you have accomplished or for what Christ has
accomplished in you?
B. Are you tired of trying to do it yourself?
1. Maybe you’ve got everyone else fooled but you know deep down that you’re just not
making the grade
2. You’re not the only one who know. Christ knows, too, because He sees all.
C. A man injured on the job filed an insurance claim. The insurance company requested
more information, so the man wrote the insurance company the following letter of
explanation:
Dear Sirs:
I am writing in response to your request concerning clarification of the information I
supplied in block #11 on the insurance form, which asked for the cause of the injury. I
answered, “Trying to do the job alone.” I trust that the following explanation will be
sufficient.
I’m a bricklayer by trade. On the date of the injury, I was working alone, laying brick
around the top of a three-story building. When I finished the job, I had about 500 pounds
of brick left over. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand, I decided to put the into a
barrel and lower them by a pulley that was fastened to the top of the building.
I secured the end of the rope at ground level, went backup to the top of the building,
loaded bricks into the barrel, and pushed it over the side. I then went back down to the
ground and untied the rope, holding it securely to insure the slow descent of the barrel.
As you will note in block #6 of the insurance form, I weigh 145 pounds. At the shock of
being jerked off the ground so swiftly by they 500 pounds of bricks in the barrel, lost my
presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope.
Between the second and third floors I met the barrel. This accounts for the bruises and
lacerations on my upper body. Fortunately, I retained enough presence of mind to
maintain my tight hold on the rope and proceeded rapidly up the side of the building, not
stopping until my right hand was jammed into the pulley. This accounts for my broken
thumb (see block #4). Despite the pain, I continued to hold tightly to the rope.
Unfortunately, at approximately the same time, the barrel hit the ground and the bottom
fell out of the barrel. Devoid of the weight of the bricks, the barrel now weighed about
fifty pounds. (I again refer you to block #6, where my weight is listed). I began a rapid
descent.
In the vicinity of the second floor, I met the barrel coming up. This explains the injury
to my legs and lower body. Slowed only slightly, I continued my descent, landing on the
pile of bricks. Fortunately, my back was only sprained. I’m sorry to report, however,
that at this point, I again lost my presence of mind – and let go of the rope. The barrel
crashed down on my shoulder and head – breaking my shoulder and giving me a
concussion.
I trust that this answers your concern. Please note that I am finished trying to do the
job alone.
1. Does that letter sort of describe your life?
2. Doing it alone, under our own power, with all of our own wit and wisdom, and all of
our own desire usually gets us into trouble
3. Jesus has called us to make Him our Lord and Savior and He has promised that if we
will, He will send us His Holy Spirit to live within us as our Comforter, Counselor, and
Guide.
