This week, we are in the second part of our three-part series entitled “Seismic Shift” in which we are looking at how the world was changed after the resurrection of Jesus Christ. A seismic shift is geological event that happens within the earth and the results literally change the world. The most obvious sign of a seismic shift is an earthquake, and we have heard plenty about earthquakes already this year. But most of the time, a seismic shift happens without us ever knowing about, or seeing the results. It is estimated that there about 50 seismic events each and every day, and a vast majority of them go unnoticed or the results are temporary. However, what we see in the Christian faith is a seismic shift that has shaken the world to its very core; the results of which we still see today, all over the world, nearly 2000 years after the initial event.
Last week, we looked at a significant shift that happened in the disciples. We saw three major characteristics that stood in stark contrast to the disciples that we read about prior to the resurrection. First of all, Luke, the author of Acts, tells us that the disciples are now standing before the Jewish Council, when before Jesus was arrested he told the disciples that they would all fall away. After this shift took place, they were standing, instead of falling.
Just after the crucifixion, and even shortly after the resurrection itself, we see the disciples huddling together in a locked room. They are afraid, and they are hiding from the Jewish authorities. But when we come to today’s passage we find out that the reason why they were arrested was because they were teaching about Jesus in the open at the Temple. They are miraculously released from prison, but the next morning, they are teaching at the Temple in plain sight of those who arrested them in the first place. After this shift took place, they were teaching in the open, instead of hiding behind a locked door.
Finally, perhaps the biggest shift that we see is in Peter himself. Peter, the one who denied Jesus three times while this same Council was questioning him, speaks boldly about Jesus to the Council. He points his finger at the high priest and reminds him that it was this Council that condemned Jesus to death, while it was God who raised him from the dead. And in spite of the commands and warnings to keep quiet about Jesus, Peter insists that he must obey God instead of man. After this shift took place, Peter was speaking boldly about Jesus in front of the Council, instead of denying him, like when he was questioned by the slave girl.
These are significant shifts that would not have taken place had not Jesus been raised from the dead. If the resurrection had never happened, the disciples would have gone back to their fishing boats and lived the rest of their lives in obscurity. But there was a significant shift that took place, which changed the world. And what we are going to see today is that shift didn’t just affect those who were already following Jesus.
Some people might say that the disciples were just trying to carry on Jesus’ teaching. That they made up the resurrection so they could spread this new teaching around the world. Now, as you can imagine, I strongly disagree with this point of view. And one reason why I disagree is because of today’s passage. It makes sense for Jesus’ disciples to want to keep the message going. It does not make sense for a person such as Saul, or Paul as he comes to be known by the early church, to start teaching about Jesus unless there was a significant shift that took place. You see, Saul’s world was turned upside down, even more so than the disciples. So, what do we know about this Saul character, and what is the shift that we see in him?
Saul is introduced in Acts 7:58. In Acts 7, Stephen, a man who is “full of the Holy Spirit,” is arrested, and the short version is that he places the blame for Jesus’ death on the Jewish Council, there is a mob riot and Stephen is stoned to death. And in Acts 7:58, we are told that the people doing the stoning were laying their cloaks down at the feet of a young man named Saul.
So, our first picture of Saul is at the stoning of one of the deacons of the early church. He is standing off to the side giving implicit approval of the actions of the crowd, which, by the way, were illegal according to the Roman laws of the day. Only the Romans could legally execute somebody. In stoning Stephen, the people were blatantly defying Roman law. Not only do we have Saul’s implicit approval, but in 8:1, Luke even tells us that Saul approved of his execution. So, now we have explicit approval from Saul concerning the execution of Stephen.
And it is almost like the stoning of Stephen was a catalyst that caused a persecution to take place all over Jerusalem. Once again, Saul is on the scene. And not only is he on the scene, but he is now the lead character. Saul is instrumental in persecuting the church in Jerusalem, so much so that the new followers of Jesus were scattered all over the regions of Judea and Samaria.
Luke tells us in 8:3 that Saul was “ravaging” the church. He was going house to house in Jerusalem, dragging away men and women believers, and putting them in prison. We don’t hear anything more about Saul for the rest of Acts 8, and we pick back up on his story with today’s passage, and he hasn’t gotten any better. The main character as we enter into Acts 9 is not a pleasant person at all. In fact, if this guy were around right now, I’d suggest staying away from him.
Acts 9 starts off by letting us know that Saul is “still breathing threats and murder against the disciples.” This phrase is very important. Think about this for a minute. What do we breathe in? We breathe in air. This time of year, we breathe in all sorts of pollen and dust. We breathe in the things that surround us. So, what Luke is telling us is that Saul is surrounding himself with these threats and murder. He’s not literally breathing them in, but he might as well, because he created an environment around himself that is filled with threats and murder against the disciples of Jesus. He has definitely not become more sympathetic to Christians by the time we enter into Acts 9. We aren’t seeing a gradual change in Saul. If anything, he is getting more violent towards Christians, and his reach is spreading.
We are told that Saul went to the high priest, and got letters to the synagogues in Damascus. This seems like a simple statement, but it tells us a lot. First of all, Saul is acting on the authority of the high priest. This would be like a soldier getting an order from the president. It’s coming straight from the top. Saul is on official Council business. The letters that he received would have probably been letters of introduction and proof that Paul was working on behalf of the high priest.
Now, Damascus is about 135 miles northeast of Jerusalem. It is outside of Judea, and outside of the direct authority of the Jerusalem Council; however the Council’s rulings were deemed to be binding in all Jewish communities. And Damascus had a sizeable Jewish community. It is said that in the time of Nero, 10,000 Jewish people were put to death in Damascus. Certainly that wasn’t the whole community, so there had to have been a very large Jewish community there at the time. And Saul is going there to continue his persecution of the followers of Jesus.
But something happens. There is about to be a seismic shift in Saul’s life. This man, who was on the path to become known as one of the greatest enemies of the Christian church, became its greatest proponent; its greatest missionary; the primary reason why there were Christians all over the Mediterranean in just forty years after the crucifixion and resurrection. And this wasn’t because the early Christians were so strong that they conquered the land and forced people to believe. In fact, quite the opposite was true, this happened in the face of persecution. This happened in spite of the fact that there were people like Saul hunting down Christians and putting them to death.
What we see in Saul is what happens when one encounters the risen Christ. As Saul and his companions are traveling to Damascus to hunt down more Christians, a blinding light flashed all around him, he fell to the ground, and he came into contact with Jesus. His world was shaken to its very core. It doesn’t happen often that somebody has such a profound encounter with God, but with Saul, that was what it was going to take. And we see a complete reversal. We see a seismic shift so massive that the direction of Saul’s life was forever changed. No longer would Saul be one who persecutes the church, but now he will be Paul, the one who spreads the message of the risen Christ.
There are literally hundreds of things that we can learn from Paul, both by reading about his story in Acts and by reading the letters that he wrote, which make up a majority of the New Testament. But perhaps the most important thing that we can learn is that God can work in major ways in our lives.
Think about this for a minute. If God can do such an awesome work in the life of somebody who was so filled with disdain for Christians, what can He do in your life? How often do we doubt that God can do anything with our lives? How often do we get discouraged and fail to fulfill our calling because of whatever reason we think is holding us back? The story of Paul is so important for us because it shows us what God can do. If can God turn this guy around, then there is hope.
It is not always going to be as dramatic as what we see in Paul. It is not always going to be as sudden as what we see in Paul. But that doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. God can work in your life in some ways that you never could have imagined. No matter how much you think you are unworthy. No matter how many times you’ve said, “No” to Him. God can work in your life. God can change your life.
And here’s the flip side of this coin. Maybe you’re sitting there this morning thinking, “This is a good message, but it doesn’t really apply to me. I’m a good Christian person. I don’t need a dramatic turn around in my life.” And for some of you, that’s probably true. But let me ask you this: What about the other people in your life? Do they have it all together? Are they following Christ as closely as you are? Are they following Christ at all?
We all know somebody who doesn’t have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. If you don’t know anybody that doesn’t follow Christ, then you need to open your eyes and look around. You know who I’m talking about. I’m talking about Jimmy who is a good person that says he believes in God, but doesn’t feel the need for Christian fellowship. The same Christian fellowship that helps us grow as disciples of Jesus Christ.
I’m talking about Susie whose life is so far off track that you don’t even bother bringing up God around her any more. The same person that needs God more than anybody. You have somebody like that in your life; I guarantee it. Maybe it’s your neighbor. Maybe it’s that person you see at the bank every week. Maybe it’s the person that you talk to at work every day. There is somebody in your life that needs God to work in him/her in a big way, and you may be the only person that can lead him/her to a relationship with Jesus.
Now, I realize, as soon as I said that last sentence, some people started to have a silent panic attack. Some people think that they are not “qualified” to share Jesus with others, and that’s a job best left to the “professionals.” And if that’s the case, if that’s what you’re thinking, then let me ask you something. Have you even been listening? God can do amazing things in our lives, and that means that God can strengthen us and give us the words to say if we are only willing to reach out to those people in our lives who need Him the most.
God changed Paul. How much more can He change us? What we learn from the story of Paul is that anybody… ANYBODY… can come to put his/her faith in Jesus Christ. Nobody is too far-gone. Nobody is beyond the reach of God. That includes the people in your life, and that includes you. God knows where you need a shift in your life. Spend some time in prayer this week asking God to show you the areas in your life where you need Him to work the most.
We have one more week in our Seismic Shift series. Next week, we are going to look at the story of Peter and Cornelius in Acts 10. This is a fascinating story because the old paradigms get blown out of the water, and that is exactly what happens when Jesus is working in our lives.
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