“Why Do You Persecute Me?”
Acts 9:1-22
Sunday, April 25, 2010

Introduction: Persecution is not a word we think about much in the United States, because we live with so many freedoms. We are free to believe in God and worship as we want. And yet, there still is persecution, it is just more subtle. From taking out prayer in schools, to trying to remove the phrase “under God” from the pledge of allegiance, to trying to remove “in God we trust” from our money. These are all types of persecutions that we are facing as Christians.
The problem is that people are using “separation of church and state” in the wrong way. When this nation was established, it was a Christian nation. Most of the signers of the Declaration of Independence were Christians. Back in England the king was always trying to control the church. There was a constant battle between the pope and the king for control. And so they established a “separation of church and state” to keep the state out of the church, not the other way around. They established this separation so that there would be more freedom in religion.
Yet, like in all things, God can use persecution for good.

I. Saul’s persecuting the church- (Mark 3:1-4; Acts 4:1-21, 7:51-53)

a. How it began- I have chosen this topic today because the whole idea of
persecution began with the arrest of Jesus; which was the last days of Jesus’ life. This is an important follow-up to the Lent and Easter season. Persecution was actually started from the religious leaders, because they didn’t like to have any competition. First and foremost they didn’t like how Jesus was drawing the people away from them, with what they thought were false teachings. They thought the teachings to be false because it was different than what they were teaching.
For example, the religious leaders had set-up strict rules of what it meant to not work on the Sabbath. Of course this was a command from the Ten Commandments. The object was to cease from working so that you could focus on worshipping God; so you could give yourself over to God more fully. But the religious leaders got carried away with the explanation of the rules and what it meant to not work. When Jesus healed a man’s hand on the Sabbath, in Mark 3, they questioned Jesus. Listen to Mark 3:1-4, “Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. 2Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. 3Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, ‘Stand up in front of everyone.’ 4Then Jesus asked them, ‘Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?’ But they remained silent.” Jesus did what was good, which in the end was lawful. Jesus was doing this regularly, and the religious leaders were angry and embarrassed by Jesus. Jesus even called them “white washed tombs” for their hypocrisy.
So the religious leaders plotted to have Jesus arrested. Of course we just went through all of this during the end of Lent. We remember how Jesus was arrested, tried, wrongly convicted, and then killed. The religious leaders thought that this would be the end of Jesus’ following; Jesus’ teachings. But they were wrong, because after Jesus was resurrected from the grave, He appeared to many people, and the Christian movement began.
So they decided that they would persecute the Christians, hoping that by perse-cuting them, they were discourage them from meeting. The religious leaders did not want to let, what they just believed was a movement, to gain steam and become credible in any way. They believed that this persecution was a service to God, to keep the religion from being tainted by other false religions. They were very misled by their beliefs and their practices, because they were caught up in their own religiosity.

b. Saul’s zealousness- So the religious leaders were the ones who were in
charge of the persecution. Time and time again we read how they tried to stop the disciples and Jesus’ other followers from teaching about Jesus. Really, this is much of what the book of Acts is about; the disciples carrying on the teachings of Jesus, and the religious leaders trying to stop them. Let’s take Acts 4 for an example:
Acts 4:1-3, “The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. 2They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead. 3They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day. 4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.” Peter and John knew that they could get in trouble for speaking about Jesus, but they knew speaking about the truth of Jesus was more important, and they were willing to be persecuted for it.
After their arrest they were brought before the council of the religious leaders and were questioned about the authority by which they spoke. Peter responds in verses 8-12: “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them: "Rulers and elders of the people! 9If we are being called to account today for an act of kindness shown to a cripple and are asked how he was healed, 10then know this, you and all the people of Israel: It is by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified but whom God raised from the dead, that this man stands before you healed. 11He is " 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the capstone. 12Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” Peter speaks with courage, which scares the council. But they needed to exert their influence over Peter, and so they threatened Peter and John, told them not to speak in this way anymore or they would be punished, and then let them go.
This aspect of persecution is picked up by a Pharisee named Saul, who takes it to a new level. After Stephen is arrested for doing great signs and wonders by the power of God, he is questioned. Stephen gives a long discourse on a range of topics from the appearing of God to Abraham, to Moses, then Joshua, David and King Solomon. Then Stephen concludes his long speech with these words in Acts 7:51-53, “You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it.”
Probably not what you want to say to those who have power over how in you will be punished. Consequently, the council was so enraged that they dragged Stephen out-side the city and began to stone him. Acts 8:1 tells us that Saul approved this killing.

II. Paul’s conversion- (Philippians 3:6; Acts 8:1-3, 9:1-18, 26:14; Rom. 5:8)

a. God’s grace is not sudden- Led by his anger against Christians, Saul
became the most zealous of persecutors against the Christians. Even Saul himself admitted this (later after his conversion when his name was changed to Paul). We read in Philippians 3:6 Paul says: “as for zeal, a persecutor of the church.” This zeal leads him to go on a rampage of persecution, as we read in Acts 8:1, “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” This persecution of the church causes the Christians to scatter all throughout the land.
Saul then goes to the High Priest to get authority to go to Damascus to arrest all that are Christians. But God has a different plan in mind for Saul, because on his way to Damascus, Saul has an encounter with God. This encounter is really the “grace of God” coming out. God knows that if Saul could have a different heart, his actions would be quite different. And so in this passage in Acts 9, we read of Christ laying hold of Saul. Remember Romans 5:8, which says “For God demonstrates His love for us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Christ meets us in our sin. Paul is “breathing murderous threats” towards the Christians. In the midst of this, Christ comes to Saul.
What a great story we have here. Saul is in no mood to consider the claims of Christ. His mind was poisoned with his prejudice against Christians. And yet he finds himself having a conversation with Jesus Himself. He is made aware of Jesus’ presence by a flashing of light from heaven. This of course gets his attention, and then the conversation begins: Jesus says to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” “5’Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 6’Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’
7The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”
We read this and think that Saul has a sudden conversion. However, this is the culmination of a process by which God was speaking to Saul. In Acts 26:14, when Paul (Saul’s name after his conversion) talks of his conversion experience, he adds these words from Christ to the conversation: “We all fell to the ground, and I heard a voice saying to me in Aramaic, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.”(Theologians say that this is referring to Paul’s continual resistance to his conscience). In other words, in all that Saul was doing, God was prodding his conscience, but Saul was fighting against it. This encounter on the road to Damascus was the final prompting, which led Saul to give himself over to the “ongoing grace of God.”

b. God’s grace is not compulsive- It is also important for us to
understand that God’s grace is not compulsive. When Christ appears to Saul, He does not coerce or compel Saul into believing, or turn him into some sort of robot. What He does is blinds him for a time. Why does Christ do this? I believe it is because it gave Saul the opportunity to think about his life; to think about his actions; to think about his sin. As his conscience was trying to speak to him, his eyes were keeping this from happening.
We see here that Jesus does what God has done time and time again; ask a probing question. God asked Adam and Eve the question, “Where are you? (knowing that they were hiding because of what they had done). God asked Cain the question, “Where is your brother?” (knowing that Cain had killed Abel). God asks these questions to poke at our conscience and get us to admit and confess our sin. Saul responds back with 2 questions: “Who are you, Lord?” AND “What do you want me to do?” Thus the cause of Saul’s conversion was sovereign grace; grace that was gradual and gentle.
This grace is seen all the more when God calls Ananias to go to where Saul is, lay hands on him, and remove his blindness. Saul is moved by this act from both God and Ananias, shown to him a sinner. Saul gives his life to Christ, and so that he will remind himself of his new nature, takes on a new name. PAUL.
Story: A soldier approached his superior one day, knowing him to
be a Christian. He told his superior that he would do anything to
believe that God would forgive his sins, but then added: “I cannot believe He will forgive me if I just turn to Him. It is too easy; too cheap. His superior, Dr. Morgan responded: “You were working in the mine today. How did you get out of the pit?” The soldier answered: “The way I always do, by getting into the cage and being pulled up.” Dr. Morgan continued: “You didn’t pay anything to get out, right? You just trusted yourself to the cage and those lifting you up, right? Isn’t that too cheap?” “Oh no,” the soldier answered. “It isn’t cheap. The company paid a lot of money to sink the shaft.” With that, it hit the soldier; just as there wasn’t anything he could do to get out of the pit on his own, God paid a great price by allowing Jesus to die for our sins and give us salvation. It is the price he paid, not anything that we can do.
Through Ananias, Paul understood God’s grace, and how it was through Christ that he received the forgiveness of his sins, and put in a place to now really serve God.

III. Paul’s ministry- (Acts 1:8, 9:15-21; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Luke 11:23)

a. To the Gentiles- Through Ananias Paul finds out about his call; his
ministry. We read in Acts 9:15- “But the Lord said to Ananias, Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel.” Paul is given the call by God to go to the non-Jews. This would not be an easy ministry for at least two reasons: one, is that Paul had been sent to dispose of the Christians. Paul’s reputation would go before him. It was because of Paul that Stephen was killed. It was because of Paul that the Christians had to scatter.
Second, Jews did not associate much with non-Jews, or also known as Gentiles. That is why the disciples we so surprised that Jesus had talked to the Samaritan woman at the well, because she was a Gentile. Likewise, because of the Jews attitude towards the Gentiles, the Gentiles were not real receptive to the Jews. Paul would have to break down the barriers between the Jews and Gentiles. We see that even though Paul was forgiven of his sins, he would bear a difficult path to make up for them.
And we see this questioning of Paul happen right away, as we read in Acts 9:19b-21, “…Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, Isn't he the man who caused havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn't he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” The people couldn’t believe that this was the same man as before. He had gone from one who was out to persecute Christians, and wreak havoc on the Christians, to one who was making more Christians! WHAT A TRANSFORMATION!!
We see 2 Corinthians 5:17 coming true: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come” Paul was indeed a new creation; a creation of Christ, to do the great work of Christ.

b. The first real missionary- We see in Paul the first real missionary.
Before Paul, the Jews had no vision to take Christ to the world. Even though Jesus told them before He left the earth, in Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” It took someone like Paul to get the ball rolling. Later we will see Peter reach out to Cornelius, and Cornelius and his family become Christians. But Peter would not have been prepared to do this had it not been for Paul’s conversion, and Paul’s ministry.
Because of Paul, Christians now have the vision to do ministry outside of their comfort zone. Our church has ministry to Hispanics; a food ministry; a computer ministry. There are other churches that minister to gangs, prostitutes, and those in prison. Just a quick glance online came up with these ministries:
www.yourcross.org, a ministry to gangs. On their website it says: Gang Outreach is a faith-based, award winning, multi-racial, multi-cultural gang prevention
and intervention program in Lake County, Illinois,providing services designed to positively influence the lives of at-risk youth in four areas: Developmentally, Emotionally, Socially and Spiritually.
Jericho Ministries Inc. is a ministry to prostitutes. On their website it says: Jericho Ministries began in 1997 as a desire from God placed in the heart of a missionary to reach out to those trapped in prostitution. The ministry began very simply with evening visits to a high prostitution area in Tegucigalpa, Honduras where coffee and truths about freedom in Jesus were shared while sitting together on the curbside. Once the women began to trust Christ with their lives, it became clear that they needed help finding jobs that would allow them to work with dignity and integrity. Out of that was born the sewing workshop of Jericho….
I could go on, but I think you get the point. It is about being in ministry to others.

Conclusion: In the Bible Jesus says in Luke 11:23, “He who is not with me is against me…” Anyone who is not seeking to build the kingdom of God is against God and therefore persecuting God. God asks the question: “Why are you persecuting me?” Maybe this question comes to you, as you haven’t been seeking to build the kingdom. Maybe it is a question that needs to be posed to someone you know. I ask you these questions: “What do you need to do to give yourself fully to God?” What can you do to help others leave their life of persecuting God, and instead build the kingdom of God?
Let us be people who accept the grace of God, like Paul did, and seek to turn our lives completely over to God. Then we will live a life that is fulfilling and meaningful, and powerful! Join with me in doing this, starting today! Amen.