Summary retelling of Acts 9: 28-30:
Once
Barnabas accepts and introduces Saul, Saul is allowed to go in and among the
Christians. He also begins debating with
the Hellenist Jews. (The word Hellen
means Greek, so the Hellenists are Jews who are not from a Jewish heritage but
rather a “Greek” or more accurately “worldly” heritage.) As one might expect, as Saul opens his mouth
to begin to debate what truth is, his opponents seek to kill him. When the plot against his life is discovered,
the Jerusalem Christians help him escape to Caesarea and Tarsus.
Thoughts for Today:
First Thought:
Again
we can see the power of Barnabas’ influence.
Barnabas is trusted, and once Barnabas extends his covering to Saul he
is allowed to go in and out and debate.
Barnabas tends to be a forgotten person of the Bible, but without
Barnabas’ willingness to put his neck on the line for what God is doing in Saul
– there may have been no Paul. And had
there not been a Paul, well, chances are we’d all be Jewish-Christians living a
much different life! {Yes, I realize God could have used other
people to bring about His agenda had Barnabas been unwilling.} But this passage reminds us of the unsung
heroes and the subtle people of faith who impact us more than we realize.
Who
are your unsung heroes?
Second Thought:
Saul’s
opponents seek to kill Saul. This
shouldn’t surprise us. The story of the
Bible is that those who bring God’s truth are simply unpopular. In the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) the
people loathed the prophets because their messages were difficult to hear. In the New Testament, the leaders in
Jerusalem hated John the Baptizer and had him killed. They hated Jesus and had him killed. They hated Jesus’ disciples and eventually
have all but one of them killed. The
world hates truth. Truth points us to
God and exposes our self-centeredness.
People hate that. They want to
focus on what makes them happy and what is fun and what “they want to do.”
Are
you willing to be unpopular – or even hated – because of the Truth?
Third Thought:
Saul
runs away and escapes with his life.
This is going to be a pattern in Acts once Saul really gets going in
ministry. I’m not saying that Saul is a
chicken and can’t battle. I’m actually
saying that Saul is such a good battler that his opponents feel that the only
way to win is to kill him. He is quite
an impressive figure in that he desires to speak the truth so much that he is
willing to put his life on the line. And
God always provides a way out for him.
How
much are you willing to trust God’s ability to protect you from harm?
Passage for Tomorrow: Acts 9: 31
3 comments:
I kinda like Saul's radical nature :)
Yep. That's why he's number 2 on my list, right behind Jesus.
Good Tastes :) hahaha
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