Before and After-Part 1
“Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord, And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man’s feet, whose name was Saul.” Acts 7:57-58
Believers in Christ have been mistreated in many ways. The worse that most of us have experienced is someone making fun of us, making fun of Jesus in front of us, shunning us, or perhaps we have been passed over for promotion at work or some other position. Christians expect that kind of treatment because we have had plenty of evidence of persecution throughout the New Testament. However, back in the time after Jesus ascended back to His Father in heaven, it became very dangerous to be one of His followers as it still is in some parts of the world. Stephen was one of those followers who was selected to be one of the first deacons to serve widows so that those who were preaching the gospel could devote their time to the gospel and not be sidetracked by having to deal with the needs of the poor and the widows.
Stephen was not at all afraid to spread the gospel. Full of faith and power, he performed wonders and miracles among the people (Acts 6:8), which made him popular among the ordinary citizens of Israel but brought the ire of religious leaders who set up false witnesses who claimed that Stephen blasphemed the law (Acts 6:9-14). That was punishable by death, and Stephen was stoned by a group of these leaders. In order to be able to carry out the stoning unhindered, these men removed some of their clothes and laid them down at the feet of a young man named Saul. This man Saul must have been a man of little compassion. How could one watch such a horrible scene and not flinch at each and every sting as the stones hit Stephen’s flesh? It just goes to show us the evil and lack of love within the heart of one who doesn’t know Christ. Stephen’s friends buried him and were very grieved that he had to die in such a horrible, inexcusable way.
This young man named Saul was in complete agreement with Stephen’s execution. Matter of fact, he was one of the ringleaders of the persecution against the Lord’s church. He would go into the homes where the church meetings were held and arrest men and women who were worshiping, dragging them out of the houses and casting them into prison. Saul was not alone in his pursuit of Christ followers. Other Jewish leaders who were in agreement with him were more concerned about preserving their position, prestige, and power rather that preserving God’s honor, but I think that Saul’s pursuits were indeed to preserve the Law and God’s honor. I don’t think that he was doing what he was doing to make a name for himself because after he became a believer and a preacher of the gospel, he never set out to make a name for himself. Saul didn’t realize it at the time, but his persecution was only causing the gospel to spread as men and women fled Jerusalem into other communities and countries (Acts 8:1-4). Saul considered anyone who was preaching about this Jesus to be a blasphemer. However, all that was going to change in a short time.
We find in Acts 9:1 that Saul, continuing his pursuit of believers, went to the high priest and desired that he would give him letters to give to the Jewish synagogues outside of Jerusalem in order to permit him to arrest believers, men and women, and bring them back to Jerusalem, we assume for trial and incarceration, but because Saul saw nothing wrong with executing Stephen, those he captured could have also received a death sentence. He was a man on a mission of his own making. He actually believed that he was doing God’s work. The sooner he could rid the land of those who followed Christ, the better off he believed Jerusalem and Israel would be. After all, they had the law. Wasn’t that enough? Did he believe that he was following the law perfectly? Did he believe that all of his “good” works would make him righteous before a holy God? Apparently. Do folks believe that today? I am afraid so, but I doubt that very many people today who think their good works will outweigh their sins have the kind of zeal for God as Saul did.
As Saul and his associates were traveling to Damascus, Syria, where apparently some of those who had fled Jerusalem to escape Saul and his henchmen had gone, they were stopped on the road by a very bright Light from heaven. Imagine his surprise and the surprise of those with him. There was no electricity back then so no streetlights or any other way for a light to shine out upon them unless it was supernatural. It was likely daylight when this happened because people didn’t normally travel at night because of the dangers of robbers, wild animals, or just not being able to see any obstacles ahead. I assume that they were traveling on foot. It was approximately 140 miles from Jerusalem to Damascus, a long trip by foot or even by donkey or mule, thus they had been traveling for many days. It makes me wonder if Saul and his associates thought they were seeing things because they were likely exhausted from their travel. The place on the road where this Light appeared was likely near Damascus (Acts 9:8). I am sure they were completely perplexed at this sight. What was it? Were they afraid?
Next time: Saul’s world is changed. Before and After-Part 2