I Will Show Him how much He must Suffer for My Name
Acts 9:1-31
Key verses 9:15,16
Good morning! Last week our modern-day Stephen, missionary Philip, delivered a powerful message of repentance. The title of my message today is “I Will Show Him how much He must Suffer for My Name.” Today's passage focuses on a young man named Saul. He had been resisting the Holy Spirit the most. His is shown in the Bible first as the man liable for Stephen’s death. After Stephen’s death a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. But God's love never fails. Romans 5:8 reads, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we are still sinners, Christ died for us.” Stephen's death produced a powerful gospel worker, the apostle Paul. God changed him and used Saul's unique zeal for the service of carrying his name to the Gentiles.
Look at vs.1-2. “Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 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.” Saul led the persecution in Jerusalem, but he didn't stop there. He went to a remote place, Damascus, for the purpose of wiping out Christians in the name of God. He didn't care if he attacked men or women. He was like an obsessive compulsive patient. Humanly speaking, he seemed to be the least and last person to be chosen by God. But from God's point of view there was a great will and plan for Saul. According to verse 11, he was a man from Tarsus, modern day Turkey. His ancestors had immigrated from Judea to Tarsus through the superpower nations Babylon, Persia, Greece and Rome. Apparently, his family had lived there even before he was born. Tarsus was located at the crossroads where East meets West. So he studied the philosophies of both East and West. He spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. He was also sent to the university at Jerusalem, majoring in Jewish law under a famous teacher, Gamaliel. In this way we can clearly see that God had prepared him to have him become all things to all men. But one thing was lacking in him, that is, he did not know God personally. So he really did not know himself despite his great knowledge. He was very ambitious. He became very popular among Jewish rulers. He grabbed the opportunity to climb up the ladder of success in the Jewish society. So he was heading for Damascus to achieve what he aimed at. However, on his way, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" The Risen Jesus visited Saul first. Jesus is God. But he humbled himself and visited this murderer Saul first. What amazing grace! According to Acts 26:14, Jesus says more at this moment: “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Farmers used goads to break in wild young bulls. Likewise Jesus had been prodding Saul, but Saul had been resisting him. But Stephen's message must have affected him. And most likely he had seen and heard Jesus and been familiar with His teachings during his public ministry. Even though it looked dramatic or drastic in this scene, it had been clearly planned by Jesus up to this point according to his divine love and plan for Saul.
When Jesus appeared to him, what happened next? No matter how powerfully Jesus appeared to him, God still appealed to his mind and his conscience. Look at verse 5, “Who are you, Lord?” According to 22:10, Saul asked one more question, “Lord, What shall I do?” or, “What do you want me to do?” These two questions are basic and fundamental questions to anyone especially to young people. The risen Jesus appeared to him and helped him to think about what was really going on in his life. Saul lived in darkness without knowing who Jesus is and what he was doing. He spent the prime of his life persecuting believers. He never thought about Jesus as his personal Lord. He thought that Jesus was a terrible blasphemer against God's name. So he ended up persecuting Jesus and his followers. But he was badly mistaken. Jesus was his very Lord worthy of his worship. Jesus gently said to him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Clearly, it turned out that he was in the wrong direction. He was determined to do God's work according to his zeal and his own idea. Unfortunately, he had no personal knowledge about Jesus. Jesus wanted to shepherd over him and enlighten him with a revelation.
Look at verse 6. "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do." Jesus answered his first question directly. But he did not reply to his second one, “Lord, what do you want me to do?” Rather he deferred it by saying, “You will be told what you must do.” After that Saul remained blind and he fasted for three days. Medically speaking, his eyes were struck by the strong light and he lost his eyesight as a result. He then lost his appetite due to sudden muscle contraction on the throat. But a man of action stopped what he had been doing and thought about what he had done before. Also he prayed according to verse 11. In the past he prayed like a Pharisee to show off. He hardly thought about praying secretly before God. He covered himself with a bushy beard. But now he prayed in private. He humbled himself. He began to give up his own righteousness and ask God's mercy. In his prayer he had been broken hearted before Jesus. He must have shed many tears of true repentance about his sins and wrong doings. And then he admitted the fact that he was a sinner and Jesus is God. His prayer reminds me of a song titled “You Raise Me Up.” The Risen Jesus forgave all of his sins. Jesus embraced him with a forgiving love. This is God's one-sided grace. This is God's unconditional love. Saul could not resist this grace anymore. He finally surrendered himself to God.
In the meantime, Jesus, who is the sovereign Lord, prepared a person locally in Damascus named Ananias. He was a devout observer of the law and highly respected by all the Jews living there. He was called in a vision, "Ananias!" "Yes, Lord," he answered. 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. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight" (11,12). Then he answered, "Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name." He was afraid to go to Saul because he knew who he was. He tried to convince Jesus with “up to the minute” CNN news about him. But Jesus challenged him to go and help him. He overcame his feeling and absolutely obeyed God's command. He was a “Yes” man. He became an honorable shepherd to the apostle Paul.
Look at vs.15 and 16, "Go! This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and their kings and before the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name." It seemed as if Jesus tried to get revenge on Saul with sufferings. But it wasn't. God had a great plan for Saul. God wanted to show his plans to his personal Bible teacher. First of all, Jesus says, “This man is my chosen instrument.” God set him apart for world salvation purpose before his birth. Once God determines something, it's impossible to alter his plan. Saul did not choose Jesus, but it is Jesus who chose him. At God's time Jesus called him. It was not based on what he deserved, but rather purely on Jesus' love. What he deserved and expected was judgment and death but what he had received from the Lord was complete forgiveness and a precious calling. Jesus chose his worst enemy to become his “chosen” one! What grace it is! The word “my” or “my name” is repeated three times. Saul used to call himself "Saul," meaning, "the Greatest." But his name became “Paul,” meaning, “the smallest.” God also chose him as his instrument. Being God's instrument means to become God's complete possession. Whenever God needed him, he became a useful instrument. It's like a surgeon's mess for life-saving work. The Gentiles and their kings were aimed first for him to carry Jesus' name. The Gentiles were non-Israelites and heathen nations. Due to their lack of true knowledge about Jesus, they were filled with so many strange ideas and philosophies. The Holy Spirit, who is the director of world mission, meant business to spread the gospel no matter how tough the road might be. God picked up and powerfully changed the worst enemy of God, Paul, for this single purpose to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ who is the king and Lord. He will be like a spiritual bulldozer to cultivate the hearts of Gentiles and their Kings, and the legalistic Jewish people, that is, all mankind.
God even blessed Saul so much that he would suffer for Jesus' name. Carrying Jesus' name in those days literally meant suffering. Throughout his long mission trips he had to go through a lot of sufferings. 2 Corinthians 11 illustrates in great detail how much he suffered as he traveled as a missionary to the Gentiles, such as being put in prison, flogged, stoned, shipwrecked, in danger from bandits, and in danger of death again and again. Jesus said, “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” If he said, “Saul might suffer,” we might feel better or easier to talk about it. However, Jesus said, “Saul must suffer much.” It seemed too much for a young convert like Saul. It is like telling a young soldier of a brave spirit that he shall take the field and enter upon action shortly. Those who bear Christ's name must expect to suffer for his name. And also those who are gloriously chosen and do most for Christ are privileged to suffer most for him. So it's no discouragement for him to be told how much he must suffer for Christ. Suffering is God’s absolute truth. Jesus willingly introduced himself, saying “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” Jesus suffered together with early Christians who were persecuted. Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things based on Peter's personal conviction, “You are the Christ.” And indeed he went through sufferings and died and was raised from the dead gloriously. In the same way, by his sufferings Saul will be like Jesus and he will learn all the secrets of Jesus Christ. Jesus blessed him to be justified, sanctified, and ultimately glorified in him. Saul had been given this glorious truth from the beginning. What an amazing grace Jesus had in mind for him! Later he was anxious to know the full depths of Jesus' love and power through participating Jesus' sufferings. Even as an old man, in Philippians he said, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Without God's divine love and intervention, I used to be a person like Saul. I used to live for the glory of my family. But when I was a freshman on campus I was in darkness without knowing the true meaning of my life. God visited me first by sending a Bible teacher and helped me with Genesis Bible studies and gave me the absolute meaning and purpose in the Lord. God's will for me was not to promote my own success and my name but to serve Him and even suffer for His world mission purpose. Since then God blessed me to be a Bible teacher and a missionary. God also blessed me to serve college students. God gave me a broken heart for them. Although they are young and able, they lack one thing only like Saul. They must live for Jesus instead of their human dreams, being subject to decay. God wants to bless them to be fruitful in God. At God's time God will surely raise them up to be gospel workers like Paul. I earnestly pray to serve them with absolute faith and vision. I pray to plant the absolute salvation grace and clear life purpose in them with the words of God.
Ananias went to Paul in obedience to God's command. When he placed his hands on Paul, immediately something like scales fell from his eyes and he could see again. He got up and was baptized and after taking some food he regained his strength. What did he do after the conversion? He made a complete U-turn and poured out his great zeal for Jesus' name. At once he boldly preached that Jesus is the Son of God. Practically, it wasn't easy to preach the gospel for he had to overcome fellow Christians' distrust as well as his old Jewish friends' persecution. But he did not give in to the situation. Nor did he take a neutral stand. From the beginning he stood on Jesus' side clearly and preached the name of the Lord fearlessly. God also sent him to Arabia, a desert, for three years and he had to spend a decade in his home town, Tarsus. In this way God helped him to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that he may be fully charged as a man of mission for the Gentiles.
In conclusion, we learn that there is a great hope if anyone meets Jesus personally. We must pray that many Saul’s of this nation may meet Jesus very personally and find out their absolute meaning and purpose in Jesus. May God raise obedient Bible teachers to bless America as a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Amen.
One word: you must suffer for my name.
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