Acts 9:1-19. The Mission of the Ascended Jesus. 2014/15 Sermon Series on Acts. Dr. Greg Anderson. February 8, 2015

Transcription

1 Acts 9:1-19 The Mission of the Ascended Jesus 2014/15 Sermon Series on Acts Dr. Greg Anderson February 8, 2015 Riverdale Baptist Church Whitehorse, Yukon

2 Introduction 1 This is one of those passages in the Bible to which everyone should pay close attention. No matter your creed, nationality, economic status and so on; Saul of Tarsus, also known as Paul the Apostle, has had more of an impact on the affairs of history over the last 2,000 years than any other writer. For Christians, the writings of Paul that have come down to us, are recognized as Scripture, as Paul himself puts it in his second letter to Timothy: inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Now even though this passage is titled in our pew Bibles as: Saul s conversion There is something even more dramatic going on than a focus on Saul And that is the presence of Jesus. To my knowledge we only have two occasions where the glorious ascended Jesus makes an up close physical appearance on planet Earth Here, as recorded in Acts 9 and the record in Revelation 1 when John, the aged apostle, on the Lord s Day is in the Spirit and encounters Jesus John gives us a detailed record of what he sees and just like Saul in the presence of Jesus he also falls down to the ground as a dead man. In our passage we have this interaction between Jesus and Saul and Ananias Text It gives us insight to what Christian conversion, beyond Saul s unique circumstances, is like And it gives us insight into how the glorified, ascended Jesus relates to us as savior, lord, and friend and this is both exciting and profitable. In the immediate prior passage we have the first example, or model, of Christian conversion, in the case of a non-jewish person the Ethiopian Eunuch. Looking at that I suggested that no one becomes a Christian without our Heavenly Father drawing him or her to Him; no one becomes a Christian without some measure of searching and no one becomes a Christian without a guide. Let s see if this pattern holds true with Saul of Tarsus. To understand this account it is helpful to bring alongside: Acts 22 & 26 where Paul recounts his conversion experience. He also mentions it in Galatians 1. There are three actors in the drama before us: Jesus, Saul and Ananias.

3 2 Due to the way this passage has been used and labeled as Saul s Conversion, we should be clear that the most important focus here is the mission of the Ascended Jesus. Given the rarity and spectacular nature of Jesus appearing from heaven, there should be no doubt as to who the lead actor is, who has the main role: It is Jesus, or as Paul accounts in Acts 22, Jesus of Nazareth Just this fact tells us so much. First, here is an important witness that Jesus of Nazareth is alive and in such a normal manner. What does this tell us? This event, while somewhat fantastic the glorious light and the inability of the others to see Jesus is otherwise very down to earth. The conversations are not at all like the Greek or Roman mythologies coming from this age. What we have here is very much a man-to-man talk. Do not expect Jesus to relate with us in a fantastic manner. Sorry to say this but some of us have been nurtured in Christian faith in this way an example of this mindset, you drive into the SuperStore parking lot and as you enter into one of the lanes, a car pulls out just in front of you, blocks off the car coming down from the opposite end who was there first and is also looking for a place to park, you pull into the slot and thank Jesus for letting you beat the other guy and having a place to park. That is not the way Jesus relates to us, that is just some kind of childish thinking. With Jesus it is more like: Now get up and go into the city and you will be told what you must do. Jesus relates to us person to person, as a loving, wise and respectful Master with a responsible servant. He expects us to be mature. So, seeing Jesus as the lead actor in this account sets out a pattern for the posture of Jesus toward us as we come into relationship with him. Not the uniqueness of Saul s circumstances: the physical appearance, the particular mandate, those are unique to Saul; but the general posture of Jesus in the conversion. The second thing I would mention is that this dramatic encounter between Saul and Jesus was a once in a lifetime event. Paul the Apostle had to carry on his life in Christian faith, just like the rest of us. He had to face more extreme circumstances, than as a rule we do, that challenged his faith in Jesus promises to the uttermost (Where was Jesus during the stoning, adrift in the ocean, deserted? Read 2 Cor. 11:24ff). I am sure his conversion grounded him but I am not sure it gave him any more faith strength than we have, for example, with the grounding of the great cloud of witnesses from the last 2,000 years or the New Testament that Paul did not have.

4 3 The point is, the experience of Jesus active in Paul s life and active in the cloud of witnesses across the ages, in times when our faith in Jesus promises is challenge; should be a source of strength and encouragement for us. Jesus does show up! This is highlighted in Jesus word to Saul that Saul is persecuting him! Jesus relates as one person so intimately with all his followers that an action toward any of his followers is an action toward him. One of the consequences of this is that when our faith is challenged we can be encouraged and strengthened by other believers, it is how Jesus relates to us. But, will we open up our hearts to our brothers and sisters in Christ? So, I would say, just like in the example of Philip and the Ethiopian, no one comes to Christian faith without the Heavenly Father drawing them. In Saul s case, it is very dramatic; Jesus appears from heaven, flattens Saul to the ground and challenges him to come into his kingdom. Jesus always takes the initiative, Jesus always challenges us how will we respond? Saul of Tarsus responds with a remarkable degree of humility given his record. Now you may question my analysis at this point, that for conversion to happen, it requires a searching individual, as seemingly Saul s only search is to persecute Jesus followers! But let s think about this for a moment. We know Saul witnessed the dramatic martyrdom of Stephen, he heard Stephen declare that he saw heaven opened and Jesus standing there. In Paul s account of his conversion before King Agrippa in Acts 26 he relates Jesus saying: It hurts you to kick against the goads. A goad is a cattle prod. We do not know what the particular goads were, but in the midst of his violent actions his conscience was bothering him. So, it may be a strange kind of searching, but Saul was giving his all to engage Christian faith and stamp it out he was not cold or lukewarm, he was passionately engaged. Just like in the case with the Ethiopian, Saul is serious about faith matters; this continues post encounter he leaves off everything else, even food and water; and when the decisive moment comes he is publically baptized as a full person engagement in relationship with Christ. So, yes, a search is going on; even a hostile search is better than no search; Jesus will respond. Finally, Ananias plays his part in the conversion experience as an obedient and wise guide. I want to focus on the way Paul accounts for his relationship with Ananias before the Jerusalem crowd in Acts 22; Ananias heals Saul s blindness; commissions him as God s witness to all the world of what he has seen and heard and then says this to Saul:

5 4 And now why do you delay? Get up, be baptized, and have your sins washed away, calling on his name. We can imagine; Saul is lying on his bed. He s blinded by his encounter with the living Jesus; he has spent the last three days with no food or water, in terrible anguish over his actions toward the people of Jesus whom he had ravaged like a savage wolf; having to reconstruct his entire world Application He does receive good news from Ananias regains his sight and a tremendous commission; but he is probably somewhat stunned; somewhat not sure if this is really happening it is at this point the wise guide knows when to take action: why do you delay, get up, be baptized! May Jesus grant to us this kind of wisdom, not just to be obedient to his promptings to engage a task, but a kind of holy boldness to challenge people to do the right thing. With the conversion of Saul of Tarsus we have a preeminent example of not only Christian conversion but also of the larger purpose all we Christians are called to. Saul has a particular course, unique to him. We also have particular courses unique to us. But the essential mission to all Christians is the same. Again listen to how Paul accounts for this mission as he speaks to King Agrippa: (Jesus)... for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you to serve and witness to the things in which you have seen me and to those in which I will appear to you. I will rescue you from your people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me. If you are a Christian, Jesus has also come to you and appointed you to serve and witness to the things in which you have seen Jesus this is what people want to hear about our personal experience with Christ, an affirmation he is alive and active in my life. If you are a Christian Jesus will rescue you, not necessarily from attack or being lost at sea, or other such calamities, but your life for his purposes will be preserved If you are a Christian Jesus wants you to help people who are lost in darkness and in the power of evil to help them experience forgiveness and a new place of beauty and holiness with Christ. Jesus did it with Saul and Jesus is still at it and may we join with him in his mission even this week Amen.