Did anyone ever hate the name of Jesus more than Saul of Tarsus...?
Who was this Saul?
His mother died when he was just nine...the son of a prominent tentmaker. He was well raised...the beneficiary of an equally rich religious and intellectual heritage. John Pollock, author of The Apostle: A Life of Paul describes Saul's early life: "Paul's parents were Pharisees, members of the party most fervent in Jewish nationalism and strict obedience to the Law of Moses. They sought to guard their offispring from contamination. Friendships with Gentile children were discouraged...his family at home spoke Aramiac, the language of Judea, a derivitive of Hebrew."
By age 13 Saul had mastered Jewish history, the Psalms and the prophets...with a sharp brain and photographic mind, he was bright and gifted. He was sent by his father to Jerusalem to continue his education. For probably the next five or six years, Saul was trained by one of the most famous teachers of the day...Gamaliel, who taught Saul in depth....to dissect the text to get a rabbi level of knowledge of the Sacred Texts. He learned to debate in quesion and answer style known as a "diatribe"...and to expound. You see, a Rabbi was both preacher and lawyer, who prosecuted or defended those who broke the Sacred Law.
His hatred of Jesus seemingly grows over the time after Jesus crucifixion. They would have probably been about the same age, Saul and Jesus, but with vastly different backgrounds and views of Judaism...Saul, a Pharisee...the elites of the religious uppercrust...those of the long tassels and "look at me" attitude. Jesus, of humble background...of the lowly city of Nazareth...a carpenter by training...our Savior by God's Divine Grace...contrasted with Saul, defender of the corrupt Jewish Church of the time...This brash, headstrong, young Jew had been trained by the best, having come from likely an affluent upbringing in the important crossroads city of Tarsus.
Paul described himself thusly, "I am a Jew of Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city"...and Tarsus was an important city...located about 12 miles from the Mediterranean and with the Tarsus mountains looming on its east in what is now Turkey. Because the city was near a seaport, Tarsus became a popular trade route for caravans carrying their goods from the Orient in the east all the way to Rome in the west.
He had the knowledge, drive, connections...and ego...to move to the highest echelons of Judaism...the ruling party...the Sanhedrin in the Hall of Polished Stones....to make him a "ruler of the Jews"...Saul was focused.
His mother died when he was just nine...the son of a prominent tentmaker. He was well raised...the beneficiary of an equally rich religious and intellectual heritage. John Pollock, author of The Apostle: A Life of Paul describes Saul's early life: "Paul's parents were Pharisees, members of the party most fervent in Jewish nationalism and strict obedience to the Law of Moses. They sought to guard their offispring from contamination. Friendships with Gentile children were discouraged...his family at home spoke Aramiac, the language of Judea, a derivitive of Hebrew."
By age 13 Saul had mastered Jewish history, the Psalms and the prophets...with a sharp brain and photographic mind, he was bright and gifted. He was sent by his father to Jerusalem to continue his education. For probably the next five or six years, Saul was trained by one of the most famous teachers of the day...Gamaliel, who taught Saul in depth....to dissect the text to get a rabbi level of knowledge of the Sacred Texts. He learned to debate in quesion and answer style known as a "diatribe"...and to expound. You see, a Rabbi was both preacher and lawyer, who prosecuted or defended those who broke the Sacred Law.
His hatred of Jesus seemingly grows over the time after Jesus crucifixion. They would have probably been about the same age, Saul and Jesus, but with vastly different backgrounds and views of Judaism...Saul, a Pharisee...the elites of the religious uppercrust...those of the long tassels and "look at me" attitude. Jesus, of humble background...of the lowly city of Nazareth...a carpenter by training...our Savior by God's Divine Grace...contrasted with Saul, defender of the corrupt Jewish Church of the time...This brash, headstrong, young Jew had been trained by the best, having come from likely an affluent upbringing in the important crossroads city of Tarsus.
Paul described himself thusly, "I am a Jew of Tarsus of Cilicia, a citizen of no insignificant city"...and Tarsus was an important city...located about 12 miles from the Mediterranean and with the Tarsus mountains looming on its east in what is now Turkey. Because the city was near a seaport, Tarsus became a popular trade route for caravans carrying their goods from the Orient in the east all the way to Rome in the west.
He had the knowledge, drive, connections...and ego...to move to the highest echelons of Judaism...the ruling party...the Sanhedrin in the Hall of Polished Stones....to make him a "ruler of the Jews"...Saul was focused.
Growth of the Church brings persecution of the Way...
Since the day of Pentecost recorded in Acts 2, Jerusalem had been buzzing with a never before seen level of religious activity. The more the Apostles told the story of Salvation...of His Resurrection...the more people came to Jesus to be saved. Things were changing...longstanding traditions and dictates were now being ignored. Jews...even priests...from Jerusalem and the region were becoming followers of the Way by the thousands.
Something had to be done to stop this unprecedented chain of events...and stopped now...the Leaders met, and set in motion their plan...Their attempt to end the movement by killing Jesus had backfired. So their next strategy was to imprison the leaders...but, guess what?...that backfired too.
After placing the Apostles in jail, the Lord sent angels to let them out...Sanhedrin frustration (and Saul's) greatly grew. (Acts 5:19-21) According to Acts 5:18..."they laid hands on the apostles, and put them in a public jail."
They were giving the Jewish establishment fits. Saul would have likely heard the high priest question the Apostles, saying, "We gave you strict orders not to continue teaching in this Name, and behold, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching..." The response from the Apostles must have greatly disappointed the Council when they replied...“We must obey God rather than men! The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging Him on a tree. God exalted Him to His own right hand as Prince and Savior that He might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him" Acts 5:29-32
To Saul and the rulers of the Jews, this statement was tantamount to a declaration of war against Judaism...and Saul was just the man to lead the fight...his reign of terror against the followers of the Way would now begin in earnest.
Saul, with the blessing of the Council, was obsessed with ending...once, and for all...this renegade religion...and maybe make himself some points with the Sanhedrin along the way...? Those 71 men ruled over Jewish life and religion...
Saul, now a succesful lawyer in the courts of Jerusalem, likely heard Stephen's address to the Council found in Acts Chapter 7, and was also likely as upset by the speech as anyone there...make no mistake about it...Saul wanted Stephen and everyone like him...either back to Judaism or...dead...
In the previous painting, Stephen the First Martyr, we learned that Saul was all in favor of harassing, tormenting...even, killing the followers of Jesus. (Acts 8:1-3)1 And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.The Church Persecuted and Scattered On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
It wasn't enough for Saul to persecute locally...he aimed to take his reign of terror on the road...little did he know what lay ahead for him on the road to Damascus...
The Conversion of Saul...Acts 9
1 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.”
“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.”
Are you blind to the Truth of the Cross? I used to be...there is a spiritual blindness that is much more severe and limiting than physical blindness...Saul had it...I had it...do you?
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.”
You can almost hear Ananias say..."what's that...? You want me to go see the guy that everybody knows would love to kill me...for following...You?" That would be most people's reaction to the request to go see a known terrorist, sworn to kill. But, nonetheless, Jesus relied on Ananias faith to enable him to this seemingly suicidal task...
13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” translation...'and You want me to go into that house and place my hands on him...? Is that what You are saying...cause...I don't think so...' Come on...we all know that we would have had a similar reaction...that's why it's called faith...it's hard...it's supposed to be hard...all about putting our trust in God.
15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”
17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.”18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.
From being a fully consumed hater of Jesus, Paul became the single most prolific writer of the New Testament...Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles...Acts 9:19-22 Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 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?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Christ.
The irony of the next verses shouldn't be lost on any of us...and, I doubt it was missed by Paul...
23 After many days had gone by, the Jews conspired to kill him, 24 but Saul learned of their plan. Day and night they kept close watch on the city gates in order to kill him. 25 But his followers took him by night and lowered him in a basket through an opening in the wall.
26 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. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus.
28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 29 He talked and debated with the Grecian Jews, but they tried to kill him. 30 When the brothers learned of this, they took him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus.
31 Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.
Remember...only God can change hearts...
So, there you have it...Saul, one of the premier haters of our time transformed by the Word...the Truth of our Salvation, Jesus Christ...He changed Paul's heart and He can change yours...you have not commited too many, nor too heinous sins that they have not all been covered by the blood of Jesus...He died on that terrible cross to pay our sin debt...yours and mine.
Please accept the change as Saul did...accept that new life afforded only in the truth of salvation through Jesus Christ...only He can save...turn your life over to Him today...you don't know that you have a tomorrow.
Epilogue
This is the 12th and final painting in this series...Obedience to God
It is hard to believe that it has been nearly two years since I understood what the Lord was calling on me to do through this project...to TeachPreachPaint...it began in April of 2010 and while I am calling it "complete", I still feel the need to "tweak" some of the paintings for detail and light...
This project has both Blessed and challenged me and has really allowed me to rely on the Lord for inspiration and guidance. You, see...I can't really paint...and I can't in my mind conceive of a painting...the Lord revealed to me some time back that He intended for me to allow the Holy Spirit to do the paintings...I just hold the brush. He's a lot better at it than I am, anyway...
But it never really was about the paintings, themselves...it's about getting the message of the painting (the Scripture) out through the imagery of the painting and the accompanying commentary... it's always been (and will be) about serving the Lord...being in His will...following His guidance through His Holy Spirit.
Serving God as my Sovreign Lord has allowed me to move away from the worries and problems of the world...in Him I find a peace and comfort I never knew existed. Sure, I still have the mundane issues of the world to deal with, but they are all just inconveniences when compared to the "Glory that awaits" as Paul put it in his first letter to the Corinthian Church.
Put your trust in Jesus...the Name above every name...only He can save...only He can change your heart...
Stay tuned for upcoming paintings and projects...I'm pretty sure the Lord already has the next one picked out...I just need to listen and let Him lead...in His service, larry
to learn more...readstudy Psalm 100...http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm+100&version=NIV