Saul's New Mission

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Saul’s New Mission
Acts 9:17-31  

The conversion of Saul was sudden and dramatic.  Now let us notice something – not the spoken, but the unspoken.  Why does Ananias not tell Saul what God has told him?  Why doesn’t Ananias reveal the great calling God has planned for Saul?  Take a minute to think about that.  The reason becomes clearer after a while – would you feed solid food to a baby or give an inexperienced camper charge of making the campfire?  In the same idea, it is not necessary for Saul to realize what his life calling would become as of yet.

And what does Saul do?  He immediately seeks the counsel and fellowship with the disciples in Damascus .  A well-learned man, he learned the side of the law that hadn’t been exposed yet – the mercy, the grace, the love.  And immediately after his time with the disciples, Saul preaches.  Yet he doesn’t preach to believers, he doesn’t only preach in the streets, he preaches in the synagogue.  Flash forward to 2 Corinthians 5:17 and read: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”  Something happened to Saul in the span of days that he spent with other Christians.  Something moved him to become a bold proclaimer of Jesus Christ.  So, utilizing the wisdom of James: “…faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead,” (James 2:17 ) how can we show our faith to new believers?  How can we let others understand why we believe the way we do?

Now another thing to learn from Saul is that he not only proclaimed the good news, he proved the Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah.   Saul first sought knowledge – the knowledge of the Word.  He then sought wisdom – the wisdom he gathered from more mature Christians during his stay in Damascus .  He then sought to proclaim the gospel powerfully.  We read in 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 that Paul states “My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power,” and again in 1 Corinthians 4:20 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power.”

So which is more important: the knowledge of the Word, the wisdom of the Spirit, or the power of God?  Here is a question that takes some thought.  For how can we understand and have faith in the power of God without wisdom?  And where can we find wisdom if we do not have some knowledge to check our wisdom upon?  The continuous quest for knowledge of the Bible lays a firm foundation for when we seek wisdom, in how to understand this knowledge.  And it is upon wisdom from God, which we act in accordance with the power of the Kingdom.  All this leads to a passionate pursuit for Christ – with Saul being an excellent example in these verses.

To gain Saul’s (now Paul) perspective from what others view in Acts, turn to Galatians 1:11-24.  After Saul flees the region, he takes refuge (where else?) at home in Tarsus , which reminds us of another verse: “Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge.” (Psalm 16:1)  Do you have a refuge in your times of need, people to fall back upon?

With the threat reversed in the region, we read that “the church throughout Judea , Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace.  It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in fear of the Lord.” (Acts 9:31 )  May we continually pray for those who persecute Christ, in the hopes that by the power of God there may be recruits from the opposition.

Sources Used:
John Darby’s Synopsis of the New Testament
John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
John Gill's Exposition of the Bible
The Student Bible: NIV Version