From Enemy to Advocate
Today, we hear about an amazing transformation. Saul, the one who led the charge in persecuting and imprisoning Christian men and women, one of the greatest physical enemies of the church, becomes one of its greatest advocates. He purposely goes to Damascus to find Christians and bring them back to Jerusalem as prisoners and yet when he gets to Damascus, he starts to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God and Messiah. So what happens? What can turn such a great enemy into such a great friend?
The big moment of conversion comes when Saul is on his way to Damascus. This is when Jesus Christ appears to him in a flash of light; knocking him off his horse and then speaks to him. In this real encounter with Jesus, God makes Saul look at what he is doing and challenges him to change. And Saul does. Not only does he respond to God, but then after that, in humility, he is willing to be led by the hand, he fasts, and then, only eats when he is saved by a Christ follower, Ananias. So the scales literally and spiritually fall away from his eyes. These are all good signs that Saul is recognizing that his life is not his own anymore. This story is why many people will call their greatest point of conversion, repentance, or of meeting God, their Damascus Road moment. Over the next few months, I will be asking you to look at yours.
Let's just take a moment to look at what Jesus says to Saul. After the flash of light knocks him off his horse, Jesus calls him by name twice, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” I think that calling him by name twice is important, it gets his attention and expresses and intensifies a feeling and desire for closeness and intimacy. You see God already knows Saul, he knows everything he is and desires. He has been trying and now is pulling Saul close.
While God does this, Jesus shows Saul his wounds. Not unlike his wounds from the cross, Jesus shows Saul the ways he has been wounding and persecuting God. Except, the interesting thing is that in this case Jesus's wounds are the persecution of the church. Jesus identifies with us so strongly when we take on his identity that he takes on our hurt and struggle. He accompanies us through it. And with a God that overcame the cross, what could that mean for our struggles in God's name. God overcomes Saul’s hatred.
Jesus is saying something else really important though. He is showing Saul that Saul’s ultimate rejection of the church, of Christians, of these teachings, is ultimately a rejection of God himself. This is why we say Jesus is so important, not because Jesus needs to be praised or recognized, but remember God came down in Jesus so that we might be reconciled to him, so that we might see and know God again when sin otherwise blinded us from Him. This means that our refusing to accept Jesus or welcome Him in or care for him or continue his work, means rejecting God, it means rejecting our creator and so our creation, it means rejecting our life, sustenance, eternity, humanity and so much more. Like Saul, God will pull people out of their unknowing or rejection, but we must recognize at this moment what it really means to reject or even ignore the church - it means rejecting Jesus and God himself.
Yet a difficult reality when we look at this conversion, is that not everyone was converted. We hear of Saul’s companions who heard the sound and saw the light, but they didn’t understand the words or see anyone. Jesus did something miraculous before their eyes and yet they couldn’t really see, hear or understand. Why? It could be that God didn’t want them to, but he showed them the light and the sound. I think that they weren’t ready or willing to hear. They weren’t ready to actually see and know the God who would challenge them, they would rather uphold their own images or ideas. As such, in the story of Acts, we hear of a lot of religious and community leaders converting, but we see many that fight back too. Sadly, the obvious truth is that not every enemy is converted, because they aren’t all willing to be.
Saul was willing to be converted and it was not just this one moment. Saul’s conversion did take something fairly drastic, but I would say the same was true for me and probably for many of us. As simplistic as this Damascus Road moment might feel, the truth is that God was working on Saul’s heart for a long time. As Jesus says, why are you persecuting me, you can practically hear Stephen’s words just before he was stoned to death, as he says “You are just like your ancestors, was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute”. Also, Saul as a Pharisee would have studied Scripture and spent a lot of time in prayer. You can only imagine how God was challenging him through the prayer and Scripture. Saul also came face to face with many Christians as he pulled them out of their homes and imprisoned them. Again, we can only imagine how the Holy Spirit would have softened Saul’s heart as he saw these Christians’ peace and love as they were being pulled out of their homes. I am sure there is more. The point is that conversion might come in a big moment, but there is a lot behind it. God does a lot of work to plant and seed and makes it grow and even if we don’t see the conversion like Stephen, our speaking God’s word, work and love are never in vain because God will use it.
So, we have seen that God does a lot of work in the conversion and we get to join in that work, but we still have a role in drawing our enemies close even as they become friends. God speaks to Ananias and leads him to Saul. We can understand Ananias’ resistance. Only days earlier Saul was probably actively persecuting Christians in Jerusalem. Ananias probably thought he was walking into a trap or hardship. Obviously, God has bigger plans than that, but Jesus is immensely patient with us, he makes space for Ananias’ questions, doubt, and fear. Jesus even lets Ananias in on one of his grand plans. As he has purposed Saul for sharing his good news and suffering to do it. So, Ananias becomes an instrument for healing Saul, drawing him close and bringing him into the Christian community. It would have been hard for the disciples to welcome Saul in, but it would have been essential to bring Saul to where and who he needed to be. Again, we can only imagine what his time with the Damascus disciples would have meant and what his being welcomed by the Apostles would have meant for Saul’s faith. He would have actively seen the love and forgiveness of Christ living in this Christian community.
We have seen how the Holy Spirit can work through us and speak into the hearts of our enemies to bring about a changed heart for Christ. We have also seen how we might have a hand in drawing people closer to Christ, but lastly, I want to look at what this can mean for the gospel. The first thing is that God turning an enemy into an advocate is an amazing witness to the truth and power of God. We hear people asking again and again, wasn’t this the one who was persecuting Christians. It would make them imagine, what happened to him, what convinced him, what changed him so much. Those questions all naturally point to God in Jesus.
The Second thing is that as Saul was once an enemy of Christ, he knows how they work. Saul knows their arguments, their plotting, their plans and so he becomes one of the ones to stand against it, challenge and change the persecution. As a result, we hear that for a time after this Judea, Galilee and Samaria lived in peace. Sadly, this peace will not last as we will see that Jesus’ way naturally challenges people, their livelihood, their actions, their beliefs and so much more. Whenever we challenge someone to change we will hit resistance.
And third, when Saul in converted not only does that add to the number of people sharing Christ, but he can also can argue and understand the points of those that stand against Christ. We hear that he becomes more powerful in this and continuously boldly proclaims Christ, even when he faces resistance again and again. So, we hear that their numbers increased.
We see today how God is working to turn even our greatest enemies into sharers of good news and workers of God’s kingdom as he challenges and overturns them. We heard how we might participate in drawing enemies close before and after their conversion as we challenge them with hearts of peace and welcome. Finally, we saw and heard what this can mean for the gospel as we see the amazement, the joy and the peace that results. It is by working with Christ that even our greatest enemy can become our greatest friend. AMEN
Why do you think Saul becomes an advocate for Christ after he was vehemently opposed?
Why does Jesus identify with his followers suffering?
Why don't the others with Paul understand?
Why was it harder for the disciples to trust Saul? Why was it important for them to trust God more than their own apprehension?
What does Saul's conversion mean for the gospel and community of Christ?
