Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Conversion of Saul/Paul pt. 2

Read Acts 9:10-19

6. What did Jesus tell Ananias to do? Go see Saul and heal him of his blindness.

7. What was Ananias’ response? Fear. Saul’s notoriety had spread to the believers in Damascus. Lord, don’t you know who this guy is? He’s a murderer of your followers. He’ll have me arrested and placed in chains.

8. What did Jesus say to Ananias concerning Saul? What do you make of Jesus’ statement concerning Saul in verse 16? 1) I haven chosen Saul to spread the Gospel to the Gentiles and Jews. 2) The suffering that Saul will experience in the service of Christ will be beyond belief.

9. How did Ananias greet Saul? As a brother in the faith.

10. What happened to Saul? He regained his sight and was baptized. Saul was now a Christian. I wonder … just as Saul bore witness to the death of Stephen and took joy in it if Stephen bore witness to the conversion of Saul and took joy in it.

Read Acts 9:19-22

11. After becoming a Christian, what did Saul begin to do? Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ in the Jewish synagogues in Damascus.

12. What was the reaction of the people to Saul’s activities? Shock. Amazement. Isn’t this the man who was suppose to be arresting people doing the very thing he is doing – proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God?

13. How do you think Saul proved that Jesus was the Christ/Messiah to the Jews in Damascus? Through Old Testament Scripture and his training as a teacher of the Law.

Background: Between verse 22 and verse 23, Saul travelled to Arabia for a period of time and returned to Damascus (Galatians 3:17). Why he went to Arabia no one knows. Events in verse 23 takes place three years after Saul’s return to Damascus from Arabia.

Read Acts 9:23-30

14. What happened to Saul in Damascus? The Jews plotted to kill Saul. Saul was forced to flee Damascus with the help of his disciples. They placed Saul in a large basket and lowered down the wall of the city.

15. Where did Saul go after leaving Damascus? Jerusalem.

16. Who did Saul try to contact in Jerusalem? The disciples/apostles. What reception did Saul receive? The disciples/apostles refused to meet Saul. They were afraid of him. Despite being a Christian for three or more years, Saul still had a reputation for being a killer of Christians. He was still remembered as the one who had the beloved Stephen killed. The disciples/apostles probably believed Saul was attempting to deceive them. He was pretending to be a Christian in order to capture the leaders of the Christian movement.

17. How did Saul gain acceptance by the apostles? A Christian named Barnabas whose name meant “Son of Encouragement” brought Saul to the apostles. Barnabas was someone greatly respected by the apostles. He spoke on Saul’s behalf. He acted as Saul’s advocate. What did Barnabas say to the apostles concerning Saul? His conversion experience on the road to Damascus … Saul’s boldness in proclaiming the Gospel in Damascus. Barnabas’ words and I’m sure intervention by the Holy Spirit convinced the apostles to accept Saul as an authentic believer. What might have happened had Barnabas chose not to speak on Saul’s behalf?

Background: Saul spent 15 days in Peter’s home. He had a meeting with James, the brother of Jesus, who was the leader of the Jerusalem church. Saul’s meeting with both men went a long way to winning the acceptance of the believers.

18. In verses 28 and 29 what was Saul doing? Saul was walking around Jerusalem with the apostles preaching the Gospel. He also debated with Hellenistic Jews – Jews who adopted Greek culture. They were into Greek philosophy – Aristotle, Socrates, Plato, etc. Hellenistic Jews were a faction in Jewish society that believed man’s salvation rested within himself (knowledge, logic) not in God. They were secular humanists who rejected the supernatural. They pursued knowledge through constant questioning and debate. Saul was able to hold his own in debates with the Hellenistic Jews. He used their methods (question & debate) to counter their philosophical arguments … methods Saul probably learned as a student of Gamaliel. Saul was so successful in his debates with the Hellenistic Jews that they wanted him dead. He now had made enemies of religious Jews and secular Jews. Observation – No one (secular Jews or deeply religious Jews) could out argue Saul when it came to proving the authenticity of the Gospel. Saul was more equipped to proclaim Christ to this group than the other apostles because of his educational background.

19. Where did Saul go after leaving Jerusalem? He returned to his hometown of Tarsus.

Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Conversion of Saul/Paul pt. 1

Background: (Read Acts 22:2-5; Acts 23:6; Philippians 3:5-6; Galatians 1:13-24) Saul’s beginnings are very much different from that of the original Disciples. Disciples – rural, uneducated, poor. Saul – urban, well-educated, upper class. Saul was born in Tarsus, an important trading city located in southeastern Asia Minor (modern day Turkey.) His family was descendants of the tribe of Benjamin. His father being a Pharisee was a person of importance in Tarsus. Moreover, Saul was a Jew who also was a Roman citizen. Roman citizenship was a big deal and not easy to obtain. It came with important civil/legal rights that non-Roman citizens, such as Jews in Judea, did not enjoy. At some point during his youth, Saul moved to Jerusalem where he received a religious education under the direction of Gamaliel, one of the greatest teachers of the Law. Gamaliel was a Pharisee who was well respected by the Jews. He was more liberal than his Pharisee brethren. Gamaliel studied Greek literature; recommended that the Sabbath restrictions be made less burdensome on the people; urged kindness toward Gentiles; and expressed tolerance toward Christians. (Read Acts 5:30-39). By his account, Saul was an excellent student (Galatians 1:13-14.) Despite his teacher’s liberal views, Saul fell into the camp of the hard-lined Pharisees who espoused a strict observance of the Law (read Philippians 3:5-6) Being a Pharisee in training, it’s very possible that Saul witnessed Jesus’ trial and crucifixion. As Christianity exploded in Jerusalem after Pentecost, Saul developed a deep contempt for the followers of this new faith. He viewed them as traitors to their heritage and violators of the Law who deserved the ultimate punishment – death. We first meet Saul at the martyrdom of Stephen (Acts 7:57-8:3.) The act of the witnesses laying their clothes at Saul’s feet is seen by some scholars as a gesture acknowledging Saul being in charge of Stephen’s execution. From this point on, Saul goes on a crusade to destroy the Church. He is the Sanhedrin’s chief prosecutor against the Church. The very name of Saul instilled fear in the hearts of the first Christians.

Read Acts 9:1-9

1. What was Saul’s request to the high priest? Permission to arrest followers of Jesus found in Damascus and bring them to Jerusalem to be imprisoned, tried as Law breakers, and stoned to death. Damascus was the largest city in the Near East. Trivia – Damascus is the oldest continuously inhabited city in the world. In Saul’s day, it had a large Jewish population. Evidently, many Jews in Damascus were becoming followers of the Way. The distance between Jerusalem and Damascus was 150 miles – a four to six day journey.

2. As Saul neared Damascus, what happened? He was hit by an extremely bright flash of light from the sky followed by a voice. What did the voice say? “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” Whose voice was this? Jesus. Why did He phrase the question to Saul the way He did? Jesus was informing Saul that in attacking the followers of the Way he was attacking Jesus Himself. Moreover, Jesus wanted to point out to Saul the futility of his mission. Saul was only hurting himself. He was fighting against God and no one comes out of that battle unscathed.

3. How did Saul acknowledge the source of the voice (vs. 5)? Lord – master, owner. A title given to God by his followers. Saul knew that this voice was from God. He was taught by his religious teachers that a voice from Heaven belonged to God.

4. What did Jesus tell Saul to do? Go to Damascus and await further orders.

5. After Saul got up from the ground, what was wrong with him? He was blind. The men who were with Saul helped him reach Damascus. For the next three days, he did not eat or drink. Only prayed.