“And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and
slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest, And
desired of him letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if he found any of
this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto
Jerusalem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus: and suddenly
there shined round about him a light from heaven: And he fell to the
earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
And he said, Who art thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:1-5a)
Every little boy wants to grow up to be just like
their hero(s) and what they played as a child may give a hint as to what era
and culture they grew up in. Cowboys & Indians, Red Coat & Rebel,
Hero(s) & Villains. When I was a kid we used to run around with a towel
feigning a cape and pretend to be super heroes OR run around with a stick
feigning a gun as a commando.
I am sure it was no different for Saul of Tarsus. (Acts 7: 58) "and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul." Saul had his heroes too. Samuel, Elijah, Moses, David. How brave and right for David to challenge and kill Goliath! (Is there not a cause!) And the zeal and righteous indignation that drove Samuel as he hewed Agag in pieces before the LORD in Gilgal. (1st Samuel 15:33) Look what Elijah did to the prophets of Baal. All 450 of them. (1st Kings 18:14) Yes Saul had his heroes, and his villains. Saul’s heroes were deeply religious and passionately committed to the cause. (Is there not a cause!) Also a child’s heroes are found in his father and in his mentors. Think about Saul growing up under the shadow of rumors about our Jesus. And the lies and whispers of his father and fellow Pharisees. Think about how Jesus continually challenged their pride and how they hated Jesus. What must have been going through Saul's mind on that fateful day on the road to Damascus?
He said, “Who art thou, Lord?” (Acts 9:5a)
No doubt Saul had thought himself one of the heroes.
“And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks”
But at the reproof he discovered himself to be
playing the villain.
“And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do?”
Jesus in an instant became Paul’s hero. The same can be said
of him as what he by the Spirit wrote to the Corinthians, “For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a
godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of
yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire,
yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge!” (2 Cor. 7:11) He in all things worked
faithfully by grace and humility to shew himself to be clear in this matter
from that time forward.
Who is your hero? Is Jesus your hero? Is He your
Lord?...
“He must increase, and WE must decrease!”
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