Saul's Transformation: From Persecutor to Proclaimer
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Sermon Clips
"Immediately he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. And then all who heard were amazed, and they said, ‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem and is come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priest?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelled in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ." [00:00:10]
"Saul had left Jerusalem on a mission to root out Christians in Damascus, and he got orders from the high priest that authorized him to drag them from their homes and bring them back. And so he left the city breathing out threats with an entourage, a retinue of mounted soldiers or helpers with him, and he left in strength, but was interrupted on the route to Damascus by the intrusion into his life by the risen Christ." [00:02:34]
"Then we read in the text this morning that this one who came blind into the city of Damascus, being led by the hand, became so powerful in such a short period of time that he had to leave the city because there was a conspiracy there to kill him, and he left by way of being secreted out a window on the wall of the city and lowered down in a woven basket like so much dirty laundry." [00:03:54]
"Immediately,” we are told, “he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” I want to stop for a few moments and focus on this – that Paul’s message, the moment he began preaching in the synagogues there in Damascus, was about Jesus as the Christ, and he declared to the Jewish people there that Jesus was the Son of God." [00:05:12]
"Well we see two titles juxtaposed in the New Testament, with respect to Jesus. On the one hand, the title “Son of Man”; on the other, the title “Son of God.” As I’ve mentioned to you before, it’s tempting, in light of the church’s confession that we believe that Jesus was one person with two natures: a human nature and a divine nature." [00:06:30]
"Now, conversely, the same idea is used to describe sonship with respect to Jesus. You are the child of the one whom you obey. Jesus is uniquely the Son of God in the sense that He, of all people in history, was completely and absolutely obedient to the Father. In His humanity, He was the Son of God." [00:13:08]
"Now it’s that language of begottenness that provoked one of the most serious controversies in all of church history in the fourth century that made it necessary for there to be an ecumenical council of the whole vast expanse of Christendom, to come together to Ephesus – excuse me, to Nicea – to meet in council, out of which came the Nicene Creed." [00:15:18]
"However, something happened between the beginning of that mission and his arrival in Damascus. What happened simply was this: he met the High Priest. He met the eternal High Priest – the High Priest who is high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, who will never retire, who will never abdicate His office, who will never leave His office by dying as all the lines of high priests in Israel had, one after another." [00:21:54]
"And so first, he was greeted by amazement, but we’re told, “Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that Jesus is the Christ.” Now this went on for just a few days until the astonishment of the local Jewish community turned to rage, and they plotted to kill him; but Paul heard of the plot." [00:23:16]
"Now before we heard of the conversion of Saul, following on the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, we had heard something of Peter’s ministry in Jerusalem, and then we have this brief interval where we’re introduced to Saul, read of his conversion and of his brief ministry there in Damascus and then back to Jerusalem for a short while until he’s then sent back to Tarsus." [00:25:22]
"Because I believe that how people worship God speaks louder about their understanding of who He is than any creed or any theology that could ever be written. God grant that the people of Saint Andrew’s will know who He is and who it is we have to do, when we enter into His house with the sacrifice of praise." [00:32:06]
"Our Father and our God, we have trivialized who You are. We have failed to show reverence and awe before You. We have not regarded the sanctuary as a holy place. We have not regarded You as holy. So change our souls and our understandings of Thee that immediately, like Saul, we will regard You as God and Christ as Your son." [00:32:49]
Ask a question about this sermon
"Saul had left Jerusalem on a mission to root out Christians in Damascus, and he got orders from the high priest that authorized him to drag them from their homes and bring them back. And so he left the city breathing out threats with an entourage, a retinue of mounted soldiers or helpers with him, and he left in strength, but was interrupted on the route to Damascus by the intrusion into his life by the risen Christ." [00:02:34]
"Then we read in the text this morning that this one who came blind into the city of Damascus, being led by the hand, became so powerful in such a short period of time that he had to leave the city because there was a conspiracy there to kill him, and he left by way of being secreted out a window on the wall of the city and lowered down in a woven basket like so much dirty laundry." [00:03:54]
"Immediately,” we are told, “he preached the Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God.” I want to stop for a few moments and focus on this – that Paul’s message, the moment he began preaching in the synagogues there in Damascus, was about Jesus as the Christ, and he declared to the Jewish people there that Jesus was the Son of God." [00:05:12]
"Well we see two titles juxtaposed in the New Testament, with respect to Jesus. On the one hand, the title “Son of Man”; on the other, the title “Son of God.” As I’ve mentioned to you before, it’s tempting, in light of the church’s confession that we believe that Jesus was one person with two natures: a human nature and a divine nature." [00:06:30]
"Now, conversely, the same idea is used to describe sonship with respect to Jesus. You are the child of the one whom you obey. Jesus is uniquely the Son of God in the sense that He, of all people in history, was completely and absolutely obedient to the Father. In His humanity, He was the Son of God." [00:13:08]
"Now it’s that language of begottenness that provoked one of the most serious controversies in all of church history in the fourth century that made it necessary for there to be an ecumenical council of the whole vast expanse of Christendom, to come together to Ephesus – excuse me, to Nicea – to meet in council, out of which came the Nicene Creed." [00:15:18]
"However, something happened between the beginning of that mission and his arrival in Damascus. What happened simply was this: he met the High Priest. He met the eternal High Priest – the High Priest who is high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, who will never retire, who will never abdicate His office, who will never leave His office by dying as all the lines of high priests in Israel had, one after another." [00:21:54]
"And so first, he was greeted by amazement, but we’re told, “Saul increased all the more in strength and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that Jesus is the Christ.” Now this went on for just a few days until the astonishment of the local Jewish community turned to rage, and they plotted to kill him; but Paul heard of the plot." [00:23:16]
"Now before we heard of the conversion of Saul, following on the martyrdom of Saint Stephen, we had heard something of Peter’s ministry in Jerusalem, and then we have this brief interval where we’re introduced to Saul, read of his conversion and of his brief ministry there in Damascus and then back to Jerusalem for a short while until he’s then sent back to Tarsus." [00:25:22]
"Because I believe that how people worship God speaks louder about their understanding of who He is than any creed or any theology that could ever be written. God grant that the people of Saint Andrew’s will know who He is and who it is we have to do, when we enter into His house with the sacrifice of praise." [00:32:06]
"Our Father and our God, we have trivialized who You are. We have failed to show reverence and awe before You. We have not regarded the sanctuary as a holy place. We have not regarded You as holy. So change our souls and our understandings of Thee that immediately, like Saul, we will regard You as God and Christ as Your son." [00:32:49]
Chatbot
-
I'm an AI bot trained specifically on the sermon from Apr 28, 2024. Do you have any questions about it?