“Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26 When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.Then 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 the fear of the Lord.
” Acts 9:19-31
Read the passage carefully. Study Saul. Pay attention to what happened to Saul after he experienced a shocking conversion on the road to Damascus. We know from Galatians that after that conversion he spent three years studying and learning about Jesus, so this vignette in Acts describes the time after that.
I heard a sermon yesterday at Atlanta Westside that focused on this passage. Many things about the sermon and the story impacted me…here are a few for you to consider…
- Who is the main character in your story? Walter Henegar, the pastor, spoke about what our lives look like when they are Jesus-shaped, when Jesus is the main character. (It reminded me of the movie Eat, Pray, Love which I had seen the day before, in which the story was clearly about the main character and her efforts to find something deeply satisfying in herself. I’ve tried that too — I think I’m much better off with Jesus as the main character.
- Paul preached Jesus. What do you preach? What are you passionate about? There are restaurants I want people to try out, there are people I want my friends to meet…do I want them to know who Jesus is?
- In living a Jesus-shaped life, two things happened to Paul: he grew more and more powerful (in Jesus, by the Spirit), AND he grew more and more vulnerable — now people wanted to kill him. Have you seen this play out in your life?
- In living a Jesus-shaped life, two more things happened to Paul: he experienced deeply intimate relationships with people who would die for him, AND he experienced some of the most painful alienation of his life. What about you?
More to be said, the sermon was way better than this short synopsis, so do track it down and download it. But most of all, ask Jesus, ask yourself, “Whom do I preach? What is my life like with Jesus as the main character?” These aren’t easy questions, and the answers are even harder.
