Yesterday, my Sunday School teacher and his family were ending their much deserved vacation so I had the task of trying to fill his shoes as teacher. At first I was so excited because we were going to be talking about Saul, then I realized we were going to be talking about Saul! It is such a wonderful and powerful event in the Bible, and I didn’t want to mess it up. It was just me and John and April, so some of the pressure was off there… 😀
I had read the story before, but now I had to look at it from a teacher’s perspective. So I decided to take the only way I knew – read the scripture, talk about it, and apply it.
Saul was a horrible man in the eyes of the followers of Christ. He had every Christian he could find killed and openly talked against God and His disciples. It also helped him that he had the synagogues on his side. Everyone was so scared of him that they would run and hide when ever they saw him coming. Well, one day on the road to Damascus, Saul was confronted by Jesus. Wow. What a statement. Saul was confronted by Jesus. And not by a little voice in the back of his head – I mean a full-fledged bright light – Jesus himself, and His own voice, surrounded Saul. The people around Saul heard it too. He asked Saul why he was persecuting Him and told him to continue into the city and wait for someone to tell him what to do. When Saul opened his eyes, he could not see. AND HE DID JUST WHAT JESUS HAD ASKED HIM TO DO!!! For three days, he could not see and he did not eat or drink. The Bible says he was praying and I’m guessing he was scared half to death. I know I would be.
Then you have Ananias. He was a follower of Jesus. Jesus told Ananais where Saul was going to be, told him to go to him, put his hands on him so that he could see again and receive the Holy Spirit. Now you’ve gotta love Ananias. He knew about Saul and he questioned Jesus. He knew that Saul killed those who followed Christ and he didn’t want to have any part of this. But Jesus assured him he would be fine. He told him that He had an important job for Saul and that he would suffer for all he had done. So Ananias obeyed and went to Saul. What an awesome testimony of faith shown here in Ananias. He went to Saul. He told him that he was the one Jesus spoke of on the road and he was there to help him see again that he may be filled with the Holy Spirit.
THEN, fish scale-like thingys fell from Saul’s eyes and he could see again! Isn’t that just awesome. He was baptized, he ate, and regained his strength. But the most awesome part comes next – he immediately began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God! Can you imagine how the people felt? This man, the same man who condemned them, was preaching FOR Jesus – not against Him! They had trouble believing he was for real at first, but they soon saw that he was a changed man. Then of course, Saul learns of a plan to kill him and he escapes to Jerusalem.
Now, you would think that all of that was the most craziest part, but now Saul is going BACK to Jerusalem; to the very place he just came from – persecuting Jesus and his followers. When he came back he tried to join those very people he wanted arrested and killed. They didn’t believe him. No way. They thought it all a trick. All but one – Barnabas. He told all of them that he had seen the Lord on the road to Damascus and they He (Jesus) indeed did speak to Saul. They believed Barnabas and Saul began to preach in Jerusalem and then on to Tarsus, where he was from.
It is also amazing to know that Saul, who will later become Paul in the book of Acts, is responsible for writing most of the New Testament. He wrote the book of Romans to the book of Philemon. Amazing isn’t it. All the years that Saul spent studying the Old Testament were now useful in his teaching. And he did suffer thoughout the rest of his life, just as God had promised. What better story than the story of Saul to show how powerful God is and how everything He does is for his glory and for His purpose.
We had great discussions about this yesterday. These are only the highlights. I hate that Jamie and Michael were not there. I’m sure I missed some great thing I should have spoke of. This story is so powerful. I think it also another reason why God says that we should not judge those we see. Everything has it’s purpose. Everything and everyone. Even Saul…
A Place of My Own 