The Conversion of Paul

...was a team effort!

January 25, 1998

Acts 9:1-19

The story of the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, the brilliant young Pharisee persecutor of the early church into St. Paul, the missionary and theologian and author of a dozen books in the New Testament is truly remarkable. The Scriptures show us that in this remarkable transformation God used over a period of time the ministry of three separate lay Christians who probably did not even know each other. Without two men named Stephen and Ananias the story of St. Paul probably never would have even begun. And without a wonderful, gentle man named Joseph, whom the early church nicknamed 'Barnabus,' or "son of consolation,' Saul might never have found his calling as a missionary and apostle.

Stephen's impact on Paul came first: it is found in the book of Acts, Chapter 7, at the unspeakably violent scene of a mob killing. A lay deacon table server, Stephen, was stoned to death. The thugs who were doing the actual killing did not want their clothes ruined with blood spatters, so they laid them at the feet Saul of Tarsus. This arrogant young Pharisee was in full accord with what was going on, but was too proud to take part in the actual manual labor of lifting stones and throwing them.

Stephen SAID some tremendous things about the nature of God and what it means to worship. He said that from the beginning of time human beings have made substitutions for God they have worshiped creation instead of the creator. He also said that God Himself will speak to us if we will only listen. He said that finally the Word God speaks is not simply a lesson or a religion, but a Person. This Person Stephen declared to be Jesus Christ of Nazareth. He said that the proof of this truth is the fact that Jesus was crucified and died and was buried and that he rose again from the dead.

But Stephen's witness was in two parts: what he said AND THE SPIRIT IN WHICH HE SAID IT. The scripture says that the people there saw his face like the face of an angel. They heard his last words, not now a sermon, but a prayer: "Lord, lay not this sin to their charge!"

Saul of Tarsus, who became the great missionary apostle Paul, heard this sermon and saw this dying spirit. The church spread outward from Judea and Galilee, fueled by the threat of persecution that began with Stephen's martyrdom. It was as though the floodgates of anger and resistance broke and Acts 8:1 tells us that the whole church was scattered except the apostles.

How it was that the church reached Damascus in Syria we don't know. Evidently there was a healthy church there because the anti Christian forces in Jerusalem were sufficiently concerned to authorize an armed force to go and extradite them back to Jerusalem for trial, conviction, and execution. Saul of Tarsus had legal papers making him the equivalent of an ancient bounty hunter. He set off to Syria and Damascus with a vengeance.

We are all well acquainted with Saul's dramatic conversion aren't we? Jesus the risen Lord met Saul in the middle of the road to hell and knocked him off his feet with a challenge to turn his life around. Saul got up, groping, blinded, willing but bewildered. Who ARE You, Lord? But that is NOT Paul the Apostle speaking! He is still Saul of Tarsus and still on the outside of the fellowship looking in!

Enter the second witness: Ananias of Damascus! He was THERE. The Lord spoke to him "Ananias!" And Ananias answered: "Here I am, Lord!" It's a great way to begin every day! "Here I am, reporting for duty! What do you want me to do today?" On this day the "duty" was not routine: "Get up and go over to Straight Street to the house of Judas and look for a man from Tarsus, whose name is Saul. He is praying right at this moment and I told him a man named Ananias was on the way over to pray for him to get his sight back."

"Lord, I know about this man. He has legal authority to arrest Christians and take them back to Jerusalem."

God gave Ananias assurance. And Ananias was OBEDIENT. But I'm also sure he was BRAVE, too. The trip over to Straight Street must have been what athletes call a "gut check." But when Ananias got there, once again the SPIRIT OF JESUS shone through. "BROTHER Saul ..." As Ananias prayed Saul was healed. Saul was baptized they didn't wait around in the New Testament church. And then Ananias of Damascus sort of fades out of the story. He was soon forgotten, out of the way gone but WE know how vital a part Ananias played.

There was one other person that should get a share in Paul's ministry. His name was Barnabus, and he took up where Ananias left off. Later in the chapter when Paul, or rather Saul had come to Jerusalem (and that is another adventure story in itself) he tried to join the church there. But (26) they were all afraid of him. But Barnabus (27) took Saul, brought him to the apostles. The church enjoyed a time of peace but Saul/Paul was sent back to his home city, and actually went to the Arabian desert to study for three years. We don't see him again until Acts 11, when the church in Antioch had a revival and the Jerusalem people sent Barnabus there to lead.

It was then that Barnabus went to Tarsus (11:25) to look for that keen young man that the others hadn't really trusted Saul. Then in 13:2, in the Antioch church, the Holy Spirit said: "Set apart Barnabus and Saul for my work!"

During that first assignment Saul became Paul and the team changed from Barnabus and Saul to Paul and Barnabus and later on they split up over Barnabus's habit of siding with the underdog (Mark.) But if it had not been for Barnabus a man willing to do whatever was necessary to encourage Saul we would not have heard of the great Apostle to the Gentiles.

This hasn't been a sermon it has been a sort of lesson. We aren't all like PAUL. (Maybe Charles Coleson?) We aren't all like STEPHEN (aren't you glad of that!) But when unfair things happen, how do (I) we respond? We can't all be like ANANIAS. But we can get up in the morning and say, "Here I am, Lord!" We can't all be like BARNABUS. But I sure do wish we had a few more like him around, don't you?

And we can have the same two dynamic elements of witness:

1. WE CAN KNOW THAT JESUS IS ALIVE. Not as a textbook fact

   But we can KNOW Jesus. Nothing less will do, if we are to witness. And

2. WE CAN HAVE THE SPIRIT OF THE RISEN LORD. These men were not simply "nice people." They were HOLY people. They were people who had been filled with the Holy Spirit. They were people who were living Hebrews 12:14 even before it had been written! When our words and our spirit unite with the mighty Spirit of God, then we can join the ranks of the Stephens and the Ananiases and the Barnabuses. And Jesus will build His church. And there will be joy!

Prayer: O God, who by the preaching of your apostle Paul have caused the light of the Gospel to shine throughout the world: Grant, we pray, that we, having his wonderful conversion in remembrance, may show ourselves thankful to you by following his holy teaching; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen