Call to Commitment

 

Acts 9, Part 1 

 

Chapter   9:1-9

 Jesus reveals Himself to Saul through a light

       1.   Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the  high priest   

         2.   and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 

3.      As he journeyed he came near Damascus, and suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. 

4.      Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?" 

5.      And he said, "Who are You, Lord?" Then the Lord said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads." 

6.      So he, trembling and astonished, said, "Lord, what do You want me to do?" Then the Lord said to him, "Arise and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." 

7.      And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice but seeing no one. 

8.      Then Saul arose from the ground, and when his eyes were opened he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. 

9.      And he was three days without sight, and neither ate nor drank. 

Luke took us through several chapters, recounting the beginning and the development of the first church in Jerusalem. He told of the persecution, following the martyrdom of Stephen and how the disciples scattered into Judea and Samaria. Next, he relates, “Those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word,” so that Judea and Samaria were evangelized. You will remember that this was the second step in the Great Commission that Jesus left with His disciples.

 We last learned of the personal evangelization of an Ethiopian eunuch by Philip. This is an important development in Luke’s story, because this man took the gospel into the continent of Africa. Now, we will study the conversion of Saul of Tarsus, who is to become the apostle to the Gentiles. His conversion is a major part in Luke’s carefully-planned account to Theophilus and through him, to the entire world of Christianity for all ages. He is about to reach beyond the evangelization of the Jews, the half-breed Samaritans, and a Gentile proselyte, to tell of the open and concentrated thrust of the gospel into the Gentile world. It begins with the transformation of the chief enemy of the gospel into an apostle, whose entire life, from this point on, will be dedicated to taking the gospel to the non-Jewish people. First, however, we will see in chapter 10, how Peter breaks through the barrier that kept them on the outside.