Persecution to Proclamation

Paul was born in Tarsus of Cilicia (Acts 22:3; Phil 3:5). He was a Roman citizen by birthright (Acts 22:28). At the age of 12, he became the disciple of Gamaliel (Acts 22:3), a Pharisee “who was honored by all the people” (Acts 5:34) and had considerable influence among the Sanhedrin (Acts 5:38-40). Even the Jewish historian Josephus lauded Gamaliel for his knowledge. Under his tutelage, Paul became an expert in the Hebrew Scriptures.

As the disciple of Gamaliel, Paul was also a Pharisee (Phil 3:5). This fact is very important if we are to understand who Paul (Saul) was and what he did before his conversion. The origin of the Pharisees may be traced during the intertestamental period (the in-between 400-year period between Malachi and Matthew) or the so-called Second Temple period, referring to the time when the temple rebuilt under the leadership of Zerubbabel stood since the end of the Babylonian exile to the end of the Jewish revolt in AD 70. After the Babylonians conquered Palestine came the Persians, then the Greeks, then finally the Romans. The Jewish people were under colonial oppression for a long time. The Jews, having realized that they were being punished by God for their sins, desired to return to the covenant that God instituted by obedience to the Law. In short, they learned from the errors of their ancestors and wanted to live holy lives.

Along with the Sadducees, Essenes, and the Zealots, the Pharisees emerged as a holiness movement in Israel. The Pharisees were unique in that they devoted themselves to a detailed observance of the Law and brought it to all spheres of everyday life. They were so religious in keeping the Law that they would rather die than disobey. Because of this, they were very legalistic. They imposed the Law to its every letter. This was why they questioned Jesus about not washing His hands before He ate (Mark 7:1-5) and attacked Him when He healed on Sabbath day (Mark 2:23-26). Moreover, they tended to separate themselves from sinners for fear of contamination. Their whole agenda includes political aspirations. They believe that the Romans (or Gentiles) occupying the promise land were polluting or defiling it. Hence, they wished for the defeat and expulsion of the Romans so that the land would be holy again.

All of these values were inherited by Paul from Gamaliel. Since one of the goals of the Pharisees was to obey the Law to the letter and to expel contaminating powers in the land, Paul was very zealous in persecuting New Testament Christianity. He believed with all his heart that he was doing God a favor by uprooting a new blasphemous group in Israel. He allowed (or maybe even instigated) the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:58; 8:1). He admitted that he was a persecutor of the church (Phil 3:6). According to Luke, “a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria… Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison” (Acts 8:1-3). Again, for Paul, he was doing the right and godly thing. He hated the gospel for godly reasons.

By God’s grace and providence, Paul was transformed. He was given a new beginning by the Lord Jesus Christ. He was converted on the road to Damascus, recorded in Acts 9:1-15, NIV

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest ² and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ³ As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. ⁴ He fell to the ground and heard a voice say 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.” ⁷ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. ⁸ Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. ⁹ For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

¹⁰ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. ¹¹ The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. ¹² In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” ¹³ “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. ¹⁴ And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” ¹⁵ But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.

God asked Paul, “Why do you persecute me?” (Acts 9:4). This question can be asked of us as well. Notice that Saul’s life was transformed on the road to Damascus. He was given a radically new beginning. He was a persecutor, but God called him. God referred to him as: “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15). This was what he had truly become! After his eyes were opened, in just a few days, “at once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God” (Acts 9:20).

The change was so sudden that even people did not believe it! “All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised 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?” (Acts 9:21). Even the disciples did not believe him: “When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple” (Acts 9:26). They probably that it was a conspiracy so that he can further penetrate the church.

Here are few observations about the transformed life of Paul:

First, from being a persecutor, he now became the persecuted: “the Jews conspired to kill him” (Acts 9:23); “they kept watch on the city gates to kill him” (Acts 9:24); and “they tried to kill him” (Acts 9:29). Change in Christ does not guarantee a life in a bed of roses. Godly transformation upsets the world and its ungodly rulers. There are no magical protection properties when we live the life that we are called to have. Paul’s life bears testimony to this. He was threatened, arrested, imprisoned, beaten, flogged, tossed by winds and waves, persecuted, oppressed by his fellow Jews, falsely accused, and so on. He did not get wealthy. He no longer enjoyed a great position among the religious leaders. He did not even have a home for his own. He worked as a tentmaker in order for him to eat. He experienced a lot of suffering because he was transformed. His new beginning was from a life of socio-political favor to hostile marginalization. The same goes for us. As Mark 4:35-41, we will face frightening and deadly storms even when we have jumped on the boat with Jesus.

Secondly, the transformed life may contain years of silence or inactivity. Immediately after his conversation, Paul evangelized (Acts 9:20). But he was met with violent opposition too, so he fled to Tarsus. This was not a shameful thing to do. No one accused Paul of cowardice. Sometimes the best response is to retreat in order to be come back later for more fruitful work. According to scholars, the length of time between Acts 9:20 and 11:25 is nine years! He was mightily introduced in Acts 9 only to fade to almost non-existence until Acts 13. We may have these years too. Perhaps we are even in these years right now. We have started as passionate workers of the kingdom, then because of oppositions and personal doubts, we have fled to our own Tarsus, the place of our births and comfort zones.

Thirdly, even transformed men and women need an encourager. Paul fled to Tarsus, and he stayed there until someone looked for him. This was the role of Barnabas, “the son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36): “Then Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch” (Acts 11:25-26). Even God’s called servants can be discouraged. Even the most zealous church worker can run away. Paul needed someone to bring him back and assist him as he re-integrates himself again in the community. Not all of us are Pauls in the church. Not everyone truly love to go out and evangelize. But we can be Barnabases to the Pauls that we know. Instead of stifling their passion with our criticisms, would it not be better if we tap their backs once in a while?

Fourth, people who encountered Jesus become proclaimers. This was the life of Paul. He was a passionate proclaimer of the gospel. He braved winds and forests, angry mobs and protesting opponents, dangerous seas and open roads, because he took upon himself the task of making Jesus Christ known. The New Testament offers many stories in which the first response of the people to their encounter with God is proclamation: the shepherds who spread the word about the birth of Jesus (Luke 2:17), the Samaritan who spread the word about Jesus (John 4:28-30), the healed leper who praised God in a loud voice (Luke 17:15), and the disciples filled with the Spirit “declaring the wonders of God” (Acts 2:11). Our encounter with God, the transformation we experience, and our proclamation and witness of the gospel are interrelated. God forbid that the transition we experienced in life are from alienation from God to a gradual detachment from God, from a passionate rejection of God to an impassionate relationship with God, from opposition to neutrality before God, from being recipients of the gospel to being further recipients of the gospel, or from a critical observer to an appreciative observer.

We should all have Paul’s attitude: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile” (Rom 1:16). We proclaim the gospel to our own Jews, our own people and family members; then to the Gentile, our neighbors and schoolmates and workmates. We do this together, as a church. Peter’s description of the church is apt: “You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light” (1 Peter 2:9). This is who we are as believers and what we are as the body of Christ.

We may conclude this article by highlighting the three stages of Paul’s life after he was given a new beginning by God, and evaluate ourselves and see where we are right now in our Christian lives. The church is filled with people in the different stages. First, some are in the Acts 9:20 stage. These are the newly transformed and are on fire to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ. There are probably only a handful of these in our churches. Secondly, some are in the Acts 9:30-11:25 stage. This is the stage of silence and inactivity. Because of fear or just plain disobedience to the call of God, we have run away back to our Tarsuses, where we are comfortable and safe. These are the nine years of fading into non-existence, as if God has never called us in the first place. Majority of church goers are in this stage. Thirdly, some are in the Acts 11:26 stage, where people begin to be involved back in the mission and ministries of the church. Because of a Barnabas who encouraged us, we have renewed our commitment to God and His call. My hope is that all of us come to this stage. However, this stage is only temporary. Our goal is to be at the Acts 13:2-3 stage, where we are sent from and by our local churches to proclaim the gospel of salvation with boldness and authority in our Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).


(This is the fourth manuscript in the New Beginning sermon series. The first, second, third, and fourth are also available in this blog.)

Faulty to Forgiven

David’s life was a series of ups and downs. His story in the Bible begins in 1 Sam 16, when he was anointed by the prophet Samuel to replace Saul as the king of God’s people (1 Sam 16:1-13; Ps 78). This did not mean that he was immediately crowned as king. He was probably 10-12 years old when he was anointed. Two years later, he served as the king’s musician (1 Sam 16:14-23). Five years after he was anointed, he defeated Goliath (1 Sam 17:1-54). Ten years later, he was appointed by Saul as a commander of his army and was very successful in battles, earning Saul’s daughter Michal in marriage and also Saul’s jealousy (1 Sam 18:6-30; 19:9-17; 2 Sam 6:20-23). He was almost killed by Saul so he fled, hiding and pretending to be a crazy man in order to stay alive (1 Sam 21).

He became king, finally, thirty-two years after his anointing. He was named king of Judah (2 Sam 2:1-7), then of Israel (2 Sam 5:1-5; 1 Chron 11:1-3). Then he re-conquered Jerusalem from the Jebusites (2 Sam 5:6-16). As king, he accomplished many great things. After defeating the Philistines, David brought the ark back to Jerusalem (2 Sam 6:1-19; 1 Chron 13:1-14; 15:1-16:43), which earned him God’s wonderful promises (2 Sam 7:1-29). Second Samuel 8:1-18 lists his victories and officials. He is portrayed as a just and merciful king, pardoning and befriending Saul’s son Mephibosheth (2 Sam 9:1-13). Then he defeats the Ammonites (2 Sam 10:1-19). For 13 years, from the time he was made king (from ca 993-980 BC), his life was filled with victories. However, this rose-colored history changed in 2 Samuel 11. The story is tragic:

In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king’s men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. ² One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful,³ and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, “She is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” ⁴ Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (Now she was purifying herself from her monthly uncleanness.) Then she went back home.⁵ The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”

¹⁴ In the morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. ¹⁵ In it he wrote, “Put Uriah out in front where the fighting is fiercest. Then withdraw from him so he will be struck down and die.” ¹⁶ So while Joab had the city under siege, he put Uriah at a place where he knew the strongest defenders were. ¹⁷ When the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of the men in David’s army fell; moreover, Uriah the Hittite died (2 Sam 11:1-5, 14-17, NIV).

The unthinkable happened. The man of victory over armies was defeated by his own self. It seems unfathomable that he would fall in such a dramatic way. But the honesty of the Scriptures is unmistakable. Good and godly men and women are not temptation-proofed. Even the most faithful lover of God can sin. David, full of wisdom as a military strategist, was also stupid, thinking with his penis. David’s lips that were full of praises were also full of deceit.

In fact, David’s story is so shocking because he is not only portrayed as having one fault. The story reveals that David had many faults. First, he was not where he should be (11:1). It was the season of war and he was in his palace, getting up from bed in the evening! Secondly, when he saw naked Bathsheba he stared too long. Like a hot-blooded male member of human species, he was deeply attracted to beauty and wanted to possess her. Thirdly, he abused his power as king to summon Bathsheba to his palace (11:4). She did not really have a choice but to comply to the summons. It was either obedience or death for her. Fourthly, David slept with her and sent her away after purifying herself (11:4). He did not realize that their one-night affair led to her being pregnant (11:5). So, fifthly, David schemed against Urriah twice. He wanted to cover up his sin and shift the responsibility of impregnating Bathsheba to Urriah. When his plots to make Urriah sleep with Bathsheba failed, David ordered his general—Joab—to send Urriah to his death. David committed both adultery and murder.

Also, the story is full of irony because David is portrayed in the Bible as one possessing a godly heart. When Samuel went to the house of Jesse to choose the king, David was chosen by God because of his heart: “The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart” (1 Sam 16:7). God Himself testified concerning David: he “a man after my own heart; he will do everything I want him to do” (Acts 13:22). Unfortunately, it was also David’s own heart that was attacked by the tempter. No matter how good his heart was, it was still vulnerable to temptations.

David also thought that he had covered his tracks very well. However, God knows everything. God is smarter than we are. He sent His prophet Nathan to confront David:

This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you from the hand of Saul. ⁸ I gave your master’s house to you, and your master’s wives into your arms. I gave you all Israel and Judah. And if all this had been too little, I would have given you even more. ⁹ Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites (2 Sam 12:1-9, NIV)

           

Nathan’s direct confrontation forced David to make a decision. He could have birthed another sin—the sin of denial—but he chose to utter the most gallant statement of his entire life: “I have sinned against the Lord” (2 Sam 12:13). In Hebrew, David only said two words: hatati Yahweh. These two simple words would have the biggest impact in his life. Here lies his difference from king Saul, who sought to rationalize with God and defend what he did (1 Sam 15:20-21). Unlike Adam, David offered no excuses, no alibis, no blaming of Bathsheba. He dealt with his own self and sin—with boldness—and faced the reality that he was at fault. His heart is portrayed vividly in Psalm 51 (NIV), a psalm he wrote after Nathan confronted him:

Have mercy on me, O God,
    according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
    blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
    and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
    and justified when you judge…
⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
    wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
    and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
    and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
    or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
    and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…
¹⁷ My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart
    you, God, will not despise.

The immediate response of Nathan to David’s confession was surprising: “Then David said to Nathan, I have sinned against the Lord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin’” (2 Sam 12:13). After all of Nathan’s passionate speech and God’s denunciation of David’s sins, Nathan’s response was quite unexpected. I would not have been surprised if Nathan said that it was already too late and that God had already abandoned him like his predecessor Saul. David would have readily accepted if this were God’s punishment for him. After all, he knew that he had sinned against God big time.

David did not even ask for forgiveness. He only confessed what is truth and what both God and Nathan already knew. Then he was forgiven just like that. The immediacy and unexpected forgiveness that happened to David was precisely what happened to Jacob and Isaiah as well. Jacob asked the man of God to bless him, but the man asked him, “What is your name?” (Gen 32:27). This sounds like a simple question, but it was actually a question that deals with the core of Jacob’s identity. Jacob means “deceiver,” and the man of God wanted him to admit who he is, a deceiver who victimized his own family: his brother Esau, his father Isaac and his brother-in-law Laban. When Jacob said his name and therefore admitted his faults, the man responded: “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel (Gen 32:28). The story of Isaiah in the presence of the holy Lord narrates the same confession-forgiveness sequence.

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” ⁶ Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. ⁷ With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for” (Isaiah 6:5-7, NIV)

In relation to what we are required to do, does God’s forgiveness sound cheap? I am grateful that it is. Otherwise, no one can afford it. I am grateful that God’s forgiveness is just a prayer away, that a contrite heart is all that God wants, that confession of what He already knows is enough, and that God is willing to restore me in His loving embrace. This was what the apostle John wrote about much later: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). The whole point of Nathan’s fiery charge against David was not to punish him, but to bring him to his senses. God confronted David not for him to be left feeling extremely guilty and ashamed.

We can find parallels between our lives and that of David. We all have faults (plural). David may have struggled with lust, but others might be struggling with food, desire for attention, and other things. Everyone has weaknesses and vulnerabilities. We may be strong against naked men or women, but we may be weak regarding gossiping, judgmentalism, slander, apathy and other attitudes that destroy other people. The good news is that people who have faults can receive forgiveness. God’s healing, restoring grace is available for those who are willing to face God with the same painful honesty about ourselves. This is the greatest step towards a rebuilt life.


(This is the third manuscript in the New Beginning sermon series. The first and second are also available in this blog.)