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Acts-The Conversion of Saul
December 26, 2020

Last week we saw how Stephen was one of seven deacons selected by the members of the early church and how his faith and connection with the community ultimately led to his death as Saul was watching, who consented to his death. Saul was a Pharisee who knew the scriptures forward, backwards, and sideways and was fiercely loyal to what he had been taught, and yet at this time, had not yet been called by God. In Saul’s mind, he had no qualms about Stephen being stoned to death as there was a huge persecution against the church in Jerusalem.

The religious leaders knew very well the established religion was being challenged by this new upstart faith and the religious authorities would have none of it. They thought it was their right and responsibility to get rid of this new belief system based on faith and saw it as a perversion of everything they knew. Because of the persecution, the early church, except the apostles, were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Unknowingly, these persecutors did more to grow the influence of the faith than they could have ever considered. Had they taken no action, the faith would have initially been localized within Jerusalem. Their actions now expanded the footprint of the faith to a much larger geographic area. This shows that God will use adversity of the brethren to further His will and purpose here on earth. In an environment of severe persecution, where homes were entered into by the authorities and Christians, both men and women, hauled off to prison, devout men carried the body of Stephen to be buried.

The idea of a severe persecution based on religious belief is something that is hard for us to understand even though this happens throughout the world. Most look to the Nazi persecution of Jews as a recent example and yet in certain countries it is illegal to possess a Bible. North Korea is one of these countries and in several Islamic countries it is illegal to import a Bible or to own a Bible. In Western democracies where we embrace freedoms, anything that is even remotely seen as a challenge to freedoms is challenged, even if what challenges freedom is Christianity, and for many Christianity is reduced to a faith that accepts whatever society says must be tolerated, even if what society says must be tolerated contradicts the teachings of the Bible.

Going back to the Book of Acts, Philip was traveling out of Jerusalem and went to Samaria and preached about Jesus, where he found a willing audience that led to great joy among the participants. During this time there was a man in Samaria, named Simon who convinced the masses he had special powers from God. It didn’t take long for Simon to see the appeal that Philip and the message of Jesus brought to the people. Like the masses, Simon was baptized, and stayed with Philip and saw all of the miracles that were occurring.

Word got back to Jerusalem that there was a huge response to the message of Jesus and Peter and John were sent to help in Samaria. They prayed for all who were baptized that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Because the response was so huge, all that had been done at this point was the physical baptism. The people who were baptized needed to be anointed and prayed over. Simon observed this and wanted this power so badly, he offered Peter and John money to obtain this power. Peter told him the Holy Spirit cannot be purchase with money and told Simon to repent. It’s not clear that Simon repented based on his response merely asking Peter to pray for him that no harm would come to him.

Peter and John returned to Jerusalem and preached in many of the cities of Samaria and Philip was told to go Gaza, where he met a eunuch of Ethiopian descent who held a prominent position among Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had traveled to Jerusalem to worship. When Philip came across the eunuch, he saw that the man was reading Isaiah the prophet and wasn’t understanding what he was reading. He explained to Philip he needed somebody to guide him. He was at the spot in Isaiah that described a sheep being led to the slaughter and was wondering who this speaking of. The Eunuch wasn’t sure if Isaiah was speaking of himself or another person, and this gave Philip the reason to preach about Jesus, and this caused the Eunuch to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and was baptized by Philip. Philip would no longer see the Eunuch but knew that he left happy.

Acts 8:1-40
And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity. Then answered Simon, and said, Pray ye to the Lord for me, that none of these things which ye have spoken come upon me. And they, when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, returned to Jerusalem, and preached the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more: and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Caesarea.

The Eunuch from Ethiopia left in great happiness knowing his sins had been forgiven. Familiar with Isaiah, the Eunuch might have also read from the Book of Ezekiel which provides thoughts on righteousness and transgression of sin and essentially asks how do we live if our sins and transgressions are on us? God reminds us that there is no pleasure in the death of the wicked and that the goal is to turn from evil.

God then reminds us of an important point for us to remember, that our righteousness will not save us from sin. Righteousness does not balance out sin. We are not to live a life of good and evil, we are to live a life of good. Much like Adam and Eve were told to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, we are not to live a life reflecting good and evil. We are to be focused on doing good that leads to life, bearing fruit that is worthy of the tree of life. God will judge each of us for what we do whether it be good or evil. We will all be judged in what we do.

Ezekiel 33:10-20
Therefore, O thou son of man, speak unto the house of Israel; Thus ye speak, saying, If our transgressions and our sins be upon us, and we pine away in them, how should we then live? Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel? Therefore, thou son of man, say unto the children of thy people, The righteousness of the righteous shall not deliver him in the day of his transgression: as for the wickedness of the wicked, he shall not fall thereby in the day that he turneth from his wickedness; neither shall the righteous be able to live for his righteousness in the day that he sinneth. When I shall say to the righteous, that he shall surely live; if he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it. Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; If the wicked restore the pledge, give again that he had robbed, walk in the statutes of life, without committing iniquity; he shall surely live, he shall not die. None of his sins that he hath committed shall be mentioned unto him: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Yet the children of thy people say, The way of the Lord is not equal: but as for them, their way is not equal. When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die thereby. But if the wicked turn from his wickedness, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby. Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. O ye house of Israel, I will judge you every one after his ways.

As we live our life as Christians we make a conscious decision to move from a life of sin, a life of evil. We also make a choice not to live a blended lifestyle of good and evil. We choose to live a life of good. Going back to the Book of Acts, we come to the time when Saul was called by God. Immediately before his calling, Saul went to the high priest seeking permission to travel to Damascus to see if he could find any Christians there so that they might be brought back in chains to Jerusalem to face punishment.

As Saul traveled to Damascus with a small group of men, he encountered a bright light and this caused him to fall to the earth. He heard a voice from heaven asking why he was persecuting him. Not knowing who was speaking to him, Saul asked with whom he was speaking and the voice told him he was speaking with Jesus. This encounter caused Saul great concern and prompted him to ask Jesus what he should do. Jesus told him to go to Damascus and he would be told what to do. The men who were traveling with Saul were speechless because they heard a voice but saw no person. The men helped Saul travel the remaining three days to Damascus because he had lost his sight in this encounter with Jesus, and beyond losing his sight, the encounter was so concerning, Saul fasted the remainder of the journey.

Up in Damascus a disciple named Ananias had a vision of the Lord who told him to go out of the house to the straight street and to find the house of Judas where he would find Saul of Tarsus praying, because a separate vision had been given to Saul showing him that a man named Ananias would come in and anoint him to restore his sight. Imagine if you are Ananias who has been told in a vision to seek Saul of Tarsus, a man who had caused so much evil that well before the days of mass media, even Ananias in Damascus, more than a three-day journey from Jerusalem knew of Saul. Ananias knew how evil Saul was and the hardship he caused the church. He told God that he knew Saul had authority from the chief priests to imprison followers of Jesus.

God let Ananias know that he had chosen Saul to proclaim the gospel to gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. Imagine how contradictory this would have presented to the average person and Ananias acted in faith just like the patriarchs of the Old Testament acted in faith. He went to the house where Saul was staying and immediately referred to him as a brother and let him know that he was sent by Jesus to restore Saul’s sight. Instantly, the blindness left Saul and he was baptized.

Saul stayed at the house for a few days with the disciples at Damascus and then went to the synagogue to preach about Jesus the Savior. Imagine being in the synagogue and knowing that it was Saul who had been sent by the chief priests of Jerusalem to imprison followers of Jesus only to find that this man was now preaching about Jesus. The message they were hearing was not what was expected, and the Jews felt frustrated. They devised a plan to kill Saul and word of this plot got back to Saul. He knew their plan was to kill him as he left the city gates, and so the disciples made a plan to lower Saul in a basket from the city wall at night, and Saul was able to escape.

Saul returned to Jerusalem where they were not yet aware of what had happened to him in Damascus. This was the man who prior to his leaving had imprisoned any believer of Jesus he could find, and now this man was claiming to be a follower of Jesus. The brethren were not trusting Saul thinking it was a trick to come into contact with brethren so they could be arrested and imprisoned. It was Barnabas who made contact with Saul and who had to determine that Saul was sincere and brought him to the apostles. Saul became a regular with the apostles and was publicly seen with them in Jerusalem. Imagine the frustration of the high priest and chief priests to see this. We don’t know if they felt confused or betrayed. This must have been a powerful witness to them to see a person who understood the scriptures to become a follower of Jesus. Saul preached the gospel and even found time to debate the Greeks, and because Saul was challenging their fundamental beliefs, all sought to kill him. The brethren helped Saul travel from Jerusalem to Caesarea to Tarsus, and the church continued to grow.

Peter traveled to the town of Lydda where he found a man named Aeneas who had been bed-ridden for eight years, unable to move. Peter told Aeneas to arise, and he did, and this served as a powerful witness to the people of Lydda and the nearby town of Saron, and many became followers of Jesus. While in Lydda, two men from Joppa came to see Peter who told them of the fate of Tabitha, also known as Dorcas, a woman and disciple who was known for her good works and acts of charity. She had died, and the men asked Peter to come to Joppa, and when Peter entered the room saw many women crying. Peter kneeled by her body and prayed and told her to get up, and she came back from the dead. Peter then brought her to the others who were gathered. News of this miracle quickly spread, and because of this, many in Joppa believed, causing Peter to stay with Simon the tanner.

Acts 9:1-43
And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do. And the men which journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man. And Saul arose from the earth; and when his eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days without sight, and neither did eat nor drink. And there was a certain disciple at Damascus, named Ananias; and to him said the Lord in a vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I am here, Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prayeth, And hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in, and putting his hand on him, that he might receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem: And here he hath authority from the chief priests to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized. And when he had received meat, he was strengthened. Then was Saul certain days with the disciples which were at Damascus. And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; Is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ. And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him: But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket. And when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him, and believed not that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and that he had spoken to him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem. And he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians: but they went about to slay him. Which when the brethren knew, they brought him down to Caesarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus. Then had the churches rest throughout all Judaea and Galilee and Samaria, and were edified; and walking in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of the Holy Ghost, were multiplied. And it came to pass, as Peter passed throughout all quarters, he came down also to the saints which dwelt at Lydda. And there he found a certain man named Aeneas, which had kept his bed eight years, and was sick of the palsy. And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately. And all that dwelt at Lydda and Saron saw him, and turned to the Lord. Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them. But Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed; and turning him to the body said, Tabitha, arise. And she opened her eyes: and when she saw Peter, she sat up. And he gave her his hand, and lifted her up, and when he had called the saints and widows, presented her alive. And it was known throughout all Joppa; and many believed in the Lord. And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.

Just as the faith of Saul had been shattered bringing him to conversion, Peter would soon see a vision that was hard for him to understand as God was now offering salvation to the gentiles. A centurion named Cornelius would help bring this to light.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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