The text for our meditation on God’s Holy Word is the first lesson for the day from Acts chapter 9. I bring you grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
On February 16 of this year in Mosul, Iraq a young man named Zia Toma was gunned down by Muslim extremists as he left church—just the latest in a long line of Christian martyrs—millions deep—stretching back in time to the days of the early church and a man named Stephen who was the first Christian martyr.
Last week we heard how the early church faced persecution from the unbelieving Jews and that quickly grew from oppression and imprisonment-- to murder. Stephen was a leader in the early church who courageously bore witness to the Good News of Jesus Christ and after a particularly powerful sermon was attacked by a mob, dragged outside the walls of Jerusalem and stoned to death.
We don’t know the name of anyone in that mob save one: a young Pharisee named Saul—born about the same time as Jesus—taught by the greatest rabbi of the day—a rising star in his community—who stood by watching with approval as stone after stone rained down upon Stephen until he was dead.
You would think that brutal, gruesome experience would have elicited some compassion from Saul—some measure of human kindness—but it didn’t—instead he became the foremost persecutor of the church—entering into the homes of the Christians—dragging both men and women off to jail—and wanting to do even more. Luke tells us that:
Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.
Immediately before his ascension into heaven, Jesus gathered his disciples together and told them that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In other words, the Good News of salvation would go forth into the world in ever-increasing circles, reaching more & more people through their witness.
But the devil was right there too—doing every thing in his power—in those same ever-increasing circles-- to tear down the Christian faith. And the tool that he chose to undo the Gospel and persecute the church was Saul of Tarsus—the young man who stood by while Stephen died—the young man who wanted to expand the persecution of the church—the young man who by virtue of his intelligence and zeal and ruthlessness—was the best possible choice to tear down Christianity and destroy what Jesus had done for the world in his dying and rising.
But what we are going to see today in God’s Word—what is the best possible news for us when we confront a world that is increasingly opposed to Christianity—is that the risen Christ has the power to convert his enemies—and he has blessed us, his people, with an important work to do-- to that end. Luke writes that:
As Paul went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”
When we hear the story of Zia Toma in Iraq and when we read about what is happening to Christians in the Sudan and when we see on television the outright hatred and contempt that is directed against the Christian message—the emotions that we feel are not love for neighbor and a desire to do good to those who mistreat us, are they? And yet-- God loves them.
The Bible says that: God loves the world and sent his Son—and that word “world” means everybody in the world—even God’s enemies. The Bible says that Jesus is the atoning sacrifice not only for our sins but for the sins of the world—dying, not just for the good folks, but for the persecutors of his people as well. God loves the world—even his enemies. Jesus shed his life’s blood for the world—even his persecutors.
Saul was an enemy of God and a persecutor of Christ’s people and a more dangerous obstacle to the mission of the church has never existed than that man—and yet Jesus loved him and intervened in his life in a mighty and miraculous way to save him and make sure that the mission of saving the world went forward.
We may shake our heads in wonder at God’s love for his enemies—we may think that we could come up with a better solution regarding those who persecute the church—but God’s love for his enemies and his desire to convert his persecutors IS the story of Christ’s salvation-- and it encompasses us too—and in exactly the same way.
It’s easy to see that Saul was at odds with God—what is much more difficult to see is that every person in the world by nature—including us—are in the same place.
The Bible says that we are sinful from conception—that Adam’s sin and rebellion has passed to each of us—that the old self is corrupt—that we are by nature children of wrath—that the intentions of our heart are evil from our youth—and the carnal mind is at war against God. And the biblical point is this: if the love of God and the salvation of Jesus do not extend someone like Saul—then neither do they extend to us.
But of course they do! The risen Christ came into our lives just as certainly as he did for Paul on the Road to Damascus—perhaps not as dramatically—but no less real for that--maybe it was in Holy Baptism when we were just babies—maybe it was later in life as we heard his voice in the preaching of the Word—but his love for us would not let us continue as his enemies and he came to us and converted us and made us his people. The Good News of God’s love for his enemies and Christ’s salvation of his enemies for Saul and for us is this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
That is the message that has changed our lives for time and eternity—that is the message that Christ wants all people to know---that is the message that changes our hearts when it comes to our enemies and makes us love them and desire their salvation-- just as Christ loves them and desires their salvation. Luke writes that:
There was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, “Ananias.” And he said, “Here I am, Lord.” And the Lord said to him, “Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying, and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight.” But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name.”
God loved us while we were still sinners—Christ shed his blood for us when we were by nature his enemies—and having experienced that for ourselves he intends that we extend that to others through our witness. It’s important to note that while the risen Christ did miraculously appear to Saul, Saul’s actual conversion to faith in Jesus Christ did not occur at a snap of God’s fingers or through some magical way—it came through the mission and ministry of the church—through the people of God—just like our conversion did.
Someone brought us to Holy Baptism. Someone taught us in Sunday School. Someone preached to us. Someone witnessed to us about Jesus. Someone brought us to church. God used those who were already his people as the means through which he brought us into his kingdom—and that’s the way it worked for Saul through a man named Ananias.
We talked last week about how we hear the word “go” again and again in the Easter story and in the church’s story as it shares the message of Easter and so it is today: the Lord comes to Ananias and says “GO”! In fact, he has to tell him twice because Ananias has some serious reservations about the mission he is sent on. Doesn’t the Lord know that Saul is a persecutor? Doesn’t God know Saul wants to destroy the church? Doesn’t God know what kind of man Saul is?
Well, yeah—he does—he’s God—and he knows all things. And the problem does not lie with the Lord or his plan but with Ananias for whom the words that he has heard about what a terrible man Saul is-- are more powerful than the Word of the Lord that tells him to “GO”!
Ananias had an obedience problem and a faith problem. That the Lord told him to “go” should have been all he needed to immediately drop everything else and go. Those of us who have Jesus as a Savior also have him as their Lord to whom we are to yield our absolute obedience. But Ananias also had a faith problem—he cold only see what was in front of him in an angry, murderous man—he couldn’t see what Saul could become through the gracious work of the Lord.
We Christians today still struggle with the same discipleship challenges of obedience and faith. The Lord has told us to “go” with the Good News of his life and yet we are very comfortable remaining in the comfort zones of people and places that we already know. And we look out at a world of people around us who have real problems and that’s all that we can see-- instead of what they can become if only they knew Jesus. The work of bring Christ to the world and the world to Christ does not go forward magically at the snap of the fingers—it goes forward through us his people who obey his command to make disciples of all nations and who believe his promise that he can change the lives of even the most hardened enemies of the church-- just like he did for Saul who went from being a persecutor to a preacher.
The power of the risen Christ to convert his enemies has not changed or diminished in the last two thousand years and is still being accomplished today in every place where his Word is preached and his sacraments are administered. Luke writes:
So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on Saul he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized; and taking food, he was strengthened.
In that moment of witness, through the waters of Holy Baptism, by the power of the Holy Spirit—Saul went from being an enemy of Jesus and a persecutor of the church to a child of God and a brother to all the other believers in God’s family. From that moment on, every time he talked about baptism he would talk about being raised from death to life. From that moment on, every time he talked about the church he would talk about a family of faith. From that moment on, when he talked about the work of the Holy Spirit in human hearts, he would liken it to a blind man regaining his sight.
Saul was changed for time and eternity when the Holy Spirit took residence in his heart and he came to faith in Jesus. But also significant was what happened to Ananias. He learned in a powerful way that it wasn’t enough from God’s perspective just for he and his to be Christians, but that God wanted to add to his people through his witness. He learned the importance of being obedient to the Lord’s mission and in having faith in the Lord’s vision of salvation that encompasses the whole world. He learned the power of the risen Christ who could convert even his worst enemies. We need to learn the same.
These lessons from Saul’s conversion really were the turning point in the life of the church. The mission of Jesus Christ would go forth into a world that did not know him and were opposed to him and hated him—it would go forth in confidence and courage because the people of God knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that the power of the risen Christ was infinitely greater than his enemies—that in fact, the mission of Christ would go forth in through the witness of those who were formerly his persecutors but were now his preachers. Luke writes that:
For some days Saul was with the disciples at Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
This is what Jesus had in mind all along—Saul was a completely changed man by the power of the risen Christ—but he didn’t lose what he was before. He was still zealous and intelligent—he was still dedicated and fearless—it was all just converted to the cause of proclaiming Jesus as the Christ. As powerful an enemy of Christianity as he was, he now became its greatest champion--and countless millions of people have come to Christ through his apostolic ministry. This is the joyous privilege of being a part of our Lord’s mission: he does not demand of us results—but that we would be obedient and faithful and trust that the Risen Christ can convert his enemies. Amen.
And now may the peace of God that passes all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus unto life everlasting. Amen.
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