“As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me. And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?’ And I answered, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ And he said to me, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.’ Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me. And I said, ‘What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.’ And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
When Paul comes to Jerusalem the Jews wanted to kill him. They had heard that he was teaching Jews to forsake the Law of Moses:
Acts 21:20-21 (ESV)
And when they heard it, they glorified God. And they said to him (*Paul), “You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed. They are all zealous for the law, and they have been told about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs. (*added).
Because they had heard this, the Jews began to beat Paul when they discovered him in the Temple. He is subsequently rescued by Roman soldiers. In the above passage we read what he begins to tell the Jews who were just before beating him. Paul doesn’t talk to them about how unfair they are to him. He doesn’t run from them and find shelter in this Roman soldier’s barracks. Instead Paul makes his defense based upon what God had done in his life. Paul simply provides them HIs testimony. There will come a time when Paul will break down the theology of it all. He has been doing that through his missionary journeys and the letters he has written. But here he simply gives his salvation testimony. He tells the people what God did for him by opening his eyes to spiritual truth, ironically by closing his physical eyes. The power of what God has done for us by saving us is a powerful format to invite others to open their eyes to Jesus. The blind man in John 9 took a similar pathway. When asked by the Jewish leadership who he thought Jesus was, the blind man said:
John 9:25 (ESV)
He answered, “Whether he is a sinner I do not know. One thing I do know, that though I was blind, now I see.”
The power of a changed life can be as compelling as a theological dissertation. People are amazed at changed lives. Yes, these Jewish people would continue their persecution of Paul. But Paul was not deterred. He would continue to tell the world what God did for him and in him. This pathway was just the first step on his journey to Rome. Later, before King Agrippa, Paul would, once again, tell his story:
Acts 26:12-14 (ESV)
Paul Tells of His Conversion
“In this connection I journeyed to Damascus with the authority and commission of the chief priests. At midday, O king, I saw on the way a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that shone around me and those who journeyed with me. And when we had all fallen to the ground, I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’
Telling the world what God has done for us is one of the best ways to tell them what God can do for them.
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