Called to Preach

August 20, 2017 Background Scripture: Acts 9:1 – 31 Lesson Passage: Acts 9:10 – 20 It seems that God’s sense of humor is really on display when one considers who He calls to preach the gospel. (I especially thought so when I was called to preach the good news.) Certainly, many of these callings leave no doubt that it is not the will of the individual to do such a thing. Many individuals spend a lifetime in church and God does not call them to preach and yet other individuals spend almost a lifetime outside of the church and are called. Now, that’s a sense of humor. If you want to see this taken to an extreme, consider the text of our lesson today. God saved the most feared persecutor of the church and called him to preach the gospel at the same time. If this were not laughable, it would be embarrassing to the man. Saul of Tarsus was a devout Jew who defended the religion of Judaism to the point of arresting and executing all who were considered a threat to Judaism. He pushed his authority to the limit when it came to trying to destroy the church. Saul was convinced that the church was a heresy that threatened Judaism. He went after anyone who was a follower of Christianity—at that time called “the way”. He was given warrants to arrest any Christians he found and bring them bound to Jerusalem to stand trial. He did not limit the scope of his work to Jerusalem or Judea. He was on his way to Syria because he apparently received word that there was a group of Christians there. This proved to be a life changing journey for Saul—and the church! As Saul traveled to Damascus, he encountered the founder and Lord of the church, Jesus. Jesus did not defend the church but rather he defended himself. He made it clear that persecution against the church was persecution against him. Jesus totally identifies with the church as being his physical body in this world. Saul inquired as to what Jesus wanted him to do. Jesus gave him instructions to continue on where he was going but he would have a very different mission upon his arrival into Damascus. That’s right. Jesus did not tell Saul to turn around and go back to where he had come from. Neither did he tell Saul to just stop persecuting his church. Rather, Jesus sent Saul to the very place he was going but with a totally different mission. Saul was no longer working for the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem. Saul was now on a mission to do the work of Jesus—the very work that he was attempting to destroy! Again, it can be said that God has a wonderful sense of humor. Saul arrived in Damascus blind and totally dependent on the very people he was going there to arrest and take back to Jerusalem to stand trial. Meanwhile in Damascus, the people he was going there to arrest were in hiding because they were forewarned that Saul of Tarsus was on his way to get them. Jesus didn’t even tell Saul the details of what he needed to know but told him that those in Damascus would tell him. Interdependence has been a characteristic of the church since its beginning. We are all made better as we serve each other. Jesus later changed Saul’s name to Paul and Paul went on to write half of the New Testament writings. Much of his writing provides instructions for church leaders as well as instructions for how churches are to grow in grace and handle the problems that arise in their midst. The body of Jesus Christ in this world is better today because Paul was called to preach. Robert C. Hudson July 6, 2017