God’s Grace Meets God’s Enemy (Acts 9:1-20)

If you were God, who would you save? That might be an easy question until you think about your enemies: the people who hurt you or make your life hard, the people you don’t like. How patient would you be with them? How forgiving would you be if they repented? In Acts 9, Jesus encounters one of His enemies face-to-face, and we see the perfect example of why Christians love Christ so much.

We are asking God to grow us in missional and invitational neighboring.

Neighboring = opening up to relationship with whoever God brings
Missional = being intentional with the unbelieving and unchurched for the sake of Christ
Invitational = connecting the unbelieving to Jesus and the unchurched to Calvary

But it was not a given that the good news of Jesus would spread like this. Jesus’ Jewish followers initially had an extremely hard time sharing the gospel with Gentiles (non-Jewish people). It’s odd this was a struggle because God’s for all nations is such a huge theme in Scripture, beginning with promise to Abraham in Genesis that God would bless all nations through him all the way to Jesus’ command to “go and make disciples of all nations.” However, cultural differences and personal biases are hard to overcome!

The Holy Spirit had to stretch and challenge the church in order to make it happen. Acts 8-12 marks this turning point for the church so that the Gospel begins to spread beyond the boundaries of Judaism. In one story, God makes this truth finally dawn on the Apostle Peter…

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:34-36 NIV)

While we don’t experience the same tension Peter did between Jews and Gentiles, there are people and types of people we may have a hard time reaching out to, let alone sharing the good news. As we study this section of Acts, I pray God helps us see His missional heart for all people. If the idea of making disciples across cultures intimidates you, start with making disciples across the dinner table with your family, across the street with your neighbors, across the lunchroom with your classmates, across the office or manufacturing floor with your co-workers.

The Story

#1 Saul (aka Paul) hunts down followers of Jesus. (9:1-2)

We first met Saul when one of Jesus’ humble servants, the deacon Stephen, was condemned to death by the Sanhedrin and stoned. Saul was present at the stoning, and, while we don’t know if he threw any stones, we do know that he was cheering them on and holding their coats so they could throw the stones harder…at Stephen.

1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 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.

Luke portrays Saul like a raging animal, but his work is calculated and “legal” too. He seeks permission from his authorities (the Jewish high priest) and cooperation from other authorities (synagogue leaders in Damascus). In other words, Saul is not a vigilante, a zealot taking matters into his own hands. He is a representative of the Jewish religious establishment, happily carrying out their dirty work.

Saul believes he’s in the right. Every time he broke up a church meeting, arrested a Christian, and saw to their execution, he thought God was pleased! Saul is fully convinced that he is rooting out enemies of God when really he’s the enemy of God. The only thing more dangerous than a murderer is a murderer who believes he’s carrying out God’s orders. That’s Saul.

#2 King Jesus personally confronts Saul. (9:3-9)

3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

Saul is going after Christians, but Jesus tells Saul that he’s hurting Him! Jesus is a King and an attack on His kingdom is an attack on him. Jesus takes YOUR persecution personally, Christian! Not that we are often persecuted today, maybe just rejected or belittled from time to time. But imagine the encouragement this truth is to our persecuted brothers and sisters around the world. Jesus will vindicate and give justice for Christians who suffer for His sake. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but He will in the future. In this instance, Jesus DOES intervene to protect the church in Damascus. Saul is going to have to go through Jesus to get to the church. And, of course, Saul doesn’t stand a chance.

Saul would have been shocked not just by the divine figure but by the fact that this is the crucified One. To good Jews like Saul, divine victory doesn’t come through crucified Saviors. Saul’s whole imagination, his way of thinking, is being flipped upside-down. “God exalted the One who went to the cross.”

It’s hard to change someone’s mind, especially their core convictions. When was the last time something blew your mind, turned your world upside down, forced you to look at everything in a new way? But an encounter with the glorified King Jesus would do it, don’t you think?

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.’

Saul set out for Damascus like the leader of a wolfpack hungry for prey but enters Damascus like a puppy whimpering with its tail between its legs. He’s been humbled.

#3 King Jesus calls Ananias to minister to Saul. (9:10-18a)

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 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. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

Jesus had just appeared to Saul; now he appears to Ananias. It’s a busy day for Jesus, as is every day. The point here is that all of this work around Saul’s conversion is Jesus’ idea. It’s His good plan!

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

You can feel the struggle Ananias is having here. “Uh, Jesus, you do know Saul is here to arrest YOUR followers, right?” Obeying Jesus and ministering to Saul will require Ananias to take a leap of faith. Brothers and sisters, are any of the unbelievers God has put in your life to reach as scary as Saul would have been? Probably not, and even if they were, Jesus is sending you to them. You’ve got no choice but to go.

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

Jesus promises that Saul’s life work will be leading the charge to bring the good news of Jesus not only to Jews but also to Gentiles, the nations in many different cities and cultures and contexts, but proclaiming the same crucified and risen King Jesus in each.

More than that though, it will hurt. Saul will not only champion the good news he had tried to suppress but now, instead of causing suffering to Christ’s body, he will suffer for Christ’s body. What a reversal, what a conversion! With God, anything is possible.

17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18a Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again.

Ananias loves Saul so well. He obediently goes to the house where Saul was staying. He obediently puts his hands–maybe trembling hands–on Saul and speaks life-giving words to Saul. “BROTHER Saul, the same Jesus who met you met with me as well. He wants His Holy Spirit to live in you as in all of His followers.” And he obediently becomes an agent through whom Jesus heals Saul. Without Ananias and the Jesus who led him, we would never have been blessed by the ministry of the great Apostle Paul.

As a result of the ministry the Lord called Ananias to…

#4 Saul changes teams. (9:18b-20)

18b He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Saul leaves Team Pharisee and joins Team Jesus. This would not have been an easy decision under normal circumstances. Saul was giving up a lifetime of study and work to acquire comfort and acceptance and prestige and power, but he gave it all up to suffer and be rejected and live a life on the run spreading the good news of Jesus. Not an easy decision under normal circumstances, but these were not normal circumstances. He had come face-to-face with the living Son of God.

Saul gives himself over to Jesus fully, but it was not just personal for Saul; it was public too. Following Jesus and bringing His good news to the Gentiles means joining the church. So Saul was baptized as a public display of his personal allegiance to Jesus, and he spent time serving and being served by fellow believers in Damascus, warmly welcomed into the very community he had set out to destroy. Praise God!!!

The Lesson

#1 Because of His grace, Jesus can save anyone.

Do we understand how much grace God shows us when we believe or will show us if we do? Saul did! Here’s an important lesson Paul taught Timothy, a disciple he was mentoring as a pastor…

15 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. 16 But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his immense patience as an example for those who would believe in him and receive eternal life. 17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Timothy 1:15-17)

Saul understood how much grace God had shown him. How patient was Jesus with you until you believed? How gracious was He with you when you finally did?

Or perhaps you haven’t believed yet. Do you realize how patient Jesus is being with you, giving you yet another chance today to repent and be baptized? Do you realize how much grace He’ll show you if you do?

Jesus has been infinitely gracious and forgiving towards me. He’s forgiven my pride and selfishness, my lust and greed, my hatred and jealousy. “Well, you sound like a bad person, Pastor Keith!” That’s my point! I am! Apart from the grace of Christ, I’m a sinner bound for eternal wrath. And so are you. But thanks be to Jesus, who gave Himself up on the cross and graciously receives all who repent into His kingdom.

Because of His grace, Jesus can save anyone, and…

#2 Because of His truth, Jesus changes them.

Jesus accepts you sinful and broken just as you are but immediately expects you and helps you to begin changing and healing. We need a theology, a solid, biblical understanding, of the conversion–the Bible sometimes calls it the new birth or regeneration or a new creation. We are all born sinners, even those who grow up religious like Saul, and we need to personally come to grips with who Jesus is–to believe and repent. Everyone is born proud and selfish, but the moment someone starts following Jesus, that begins to change. Even children and “well-behaved” adults may not notice some wild behavioral change with conversion, but what happens is still a new creation.

Take Paul for example. When Saul converted, it’s not simply that he now had a new name for His God– Jesus. It’s that believing in a crucified and then risen King Jesus gave Saul a whole new way of looking at reality…at God’s kingdom. A new heart! In Philippians 3, Paul gives us a glimpse his brand new perspective…

4b If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:4b-14)

After trusting Christ, Paul’s assets–his heritage and training and lifestyle–became liabilities. He realized that everything he had going for him was actually going against him. He thought they brought him closer to God, closer to what is right and good, but, after realizing that God had exalted the crucified Jesus who died in his place, he understood that those things inflamed his pride and kept him from God. Instead of valuing pedigree and legalism and prestige, he came to value Christ and suffering and striving daily to obey.

King Jesus gives His followers new ways of loving and thinking and living and relating, etc. He converts our core values, our moral imagination, our relationships.

Assuming you believe in Christ, how has He been changing your perspective?
Were you/are you satisfied with your success, your wisdom, your achievements, your family, your heritage, your moral superiority, your church participation, your relationships, your passions?
Has He opened your eyes to realize that nothing counts except faith in Him?
Have you embraced the call to faithfully follow Him all the way to our own crosses, in self-sacrificial service to God, our church, and our neighbors?

Back to our original question: Who does God save? Because of His amazing grace, He saves even His enemies, like Saul and you and me. And when He saves them, He begins changing them.

Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion

If you’re a follower of Jesus, what made you an unlikely convert? If you’re not, what is making it unlikely for you to convert? How does the conversion of Saul offer hope for anyone to come to Christ?
While your conversion won’t include a specific commission like Saul’s, what are examples of ways Jesus is changing your life?

Missional and Invitational Neighboring…At Its Best (Acts 8:26-40)

At Calvary, we believe with all of our hearts that everyone in the world needs to hear God’s story because Jesus is the only way of salvation and is Lord of all. God wants us to continually become an externally-focused church and join His work to reach people from all over the world and from every walk of life. How important is God’s mission to the world? In a sense, you could say that it’s more important than the Bible. It’s been said that “missions doesn’t exist because of the Bible; the Bible exists because of missions.” It’s God’s mission to redeem people for Himself that led Him to reveal Himself and His Story through the Bible. That’s why, this year, as part of our vision to become a church for the community…

We are asking God to grow us in missional and invitational neighboring.

Neighboring = opening up to relationship with whoever God brings
Missional = being intentional with the unbelieving and unchurched for the sake of Christ
Invitational = connecting the unbelieving to Jesus and the unchurched to Calvary

This may seem really challenging to you, like “I could never do this…where do I begin?” If you’re discouraged about this, God has a gift for you today. We’re about to look at a real-life example of missional and invitational neighboring, one of the finest examples found in all of Scripture.

But it was not a given that the good news of Jesus would spread throughout the world. Jesus’ Jewish followers initially had an extremely hard time sharing the gospel with Gentiles (non-Jewish people). It’s odd this was a struggle because God’s for all nations is such a huge theme in Scripture. Plus, Jesus told them to go and make disciples of all nations. But cultural differences and personal biases are hard to overcome!

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.” (Acts 10:34-36 NIV)

While we don’t experience the exact tension Peter did between Jews and Gentiles, there are certainly people and types of people we may have a hard time reaching out to, let alone sharing the good news with. As we study this section of Acts, we are asking God to grow us in missional and invitational neighboring by listening closely for God’s missional heart for all people.

Now, if the idea of making disciples across cultures intimidates you, start with making disciples across the dinner table with your family, across the street with your neighbors, across the lunchroom with your classmates, across the office or manufacturing floor with your co-workers.

In this story, we’ll see an example of one of Jesus followers–Philip–neighboring, being missional, and being invitational.

The Story

#1 Following the Spirit, Philip opens himself to a cultural outsider. (8:26-29)

Philip opens himself up to a relationship…neighboring…

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

“The desert road” is the boundary between the “Promised Land” and the rest of the world, the lands of the Gentiles. It’s as far as you can get from Jerusalem, the holy city, without fully leaving the land. To us, it might be a bit like God saying, “Go to El Paso, Texas, that border town between the USA and Mexico.” While traveling to the edge of his world, Philip meets an Ethiopian eunuch.

Now an Ethiopian eunuch would have given most people like Philip a major pause for two reasons. He’s Ethiopian, and he’s a eunuch. An Ethiopian was from the southern Nile region–not an Egyptian from the northern Nile region, which shared much in common culturally with the Greco-Roman world, Philip’s world. Even today, North Africa has more in common with the Middle East than with sub-Saharan Africa. In fact, the Romans considered places like Ethiopia the “ends of the earth;” it’s where their maps would end. So, when Jesus says in Acts 1:8 to His disciples, “You will be my witnesses…to the ends of the earth,” He has Ethiopia in mind! So not only was this man a Gentile (non-Jew), but he was about as Gentile as you could be.

A eunuch is a sexual “less-than.” Eunuchs were male slaves who had been involuntarily castrated so that they would not be a sexual threat toward the upper-class or royal women they served. This whole idea is both shocking and horrifying to us, but it was quite common among the rich and powerful in the ancient world. Even more shocking, God forbids Israel from allowing any eunuchs to enter the tabernacle and later temple (Deut 23:1). This seems unloving and discriminatory, but the reasoning is probably that God wants to acknowledge that being castrated is unnatural and not how he intended things to be. Moreover, the effect of that rule would have meant that Israelites should not perform the practice because everyone should be able to worship in the temple. But the sad reality is that eunuchs existed in the ancient world, and they would have largely been discouraged from worshiping in the temple.

Here’s the awesome thing about this account, brothers and sisters: It’s that God Himself sends Philip to this sexually-off cultural outsider. He’s about as strange to Philip as strange can be, and yet God wants Him in His kingdom, in His family, so bad. The Spirit has found a lost sheep, and He’s going to get him. This is not Philip’s idea. He listens, and He obeys, but it is God who is leading him.

#2 Philip is intentional in this encounter. (8:30-35)

Philip is not just neighboring, he’s being missional, intentional for Christ.

30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

Philip doesn’t just ask, “So how were things in Jerusalem?” or “What’s life like in Africa?” He looks for an opportunity to share the best news in the universe but he wants to do so in a way that this man understands. So Philip engages the eunuch right where he is at, asking if he understands the Scripture…

32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

This passage is a part of a longer passage in Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 is about the Suffering Servant that God will send to suffer and die for Israel’s sins in their place so that He might lead to fulfill God’s original mission to Israel: to bring His love and truth to the nations.

The verses the eunuch is fixed on are the ones about the Servant’s innocence in the face of unjust execution and his death without descendants. Having no children was one of the biggest fears of the ancient world. Children were considered a blessing of God, a practical help throughout life, and most importantly a way for your name to “live on” after you die.

But eunuchs couldn’t have kids because they had been involuntarily castrated. And Jesus, the Suffering Servant of the Isaiah passage, voluntarily had no children because He dedicated His life to making disciples, ministering to the masses, and dying for the sins of His people. I wonder if the eunuch felt a connection at these points: injustice and childlessness.

The broader context of Isaiah fits this moment too. In Isaiah 56, the prophet Isaiah details one result of the good news about Jesus…

Isaiah 56

3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the LORD say,

“The LORD will surely exclude me from his people.”

And let no eunuch complain,

“I am only a dry tree.”

What are foreigners afraid of? Exclusion. What are eunuchs afraid of? Fruitlessness, childlessness. But God’s converted and faithful eunuchs will be blessed with something better than descendants!

4 For this is what the LORD says:

“To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths,

who choose what pleases me

and hold fast to my covenant—

5 to them I will give within my temple and its walls

a memorial and a name

better than sons and daughters;

I will give them an everlasting name

that will endure forever.”

And faithful foreigners will be fully included in the Temple, the center of His people….

6 “And foreigners who bind themselves to the LORD

to minister to him,

to love the name of the LORD,

and to be his servants,

all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant—

7 these I will bring to my holy mountain

and give them joy in my house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be accepted on my altar;

for my house will be called

a house of prayer for all nations.”

Because of the work of the suffering servant Jesus, eunuchs and foreigners who repent will be blessed, forgiven, and included in God’s kingdom forever. Imagine how good this news sounded to the Ethiopian eunuch as Philip shared it with him! There’s hope for any who repent if there’s hope for eunuchs and foreigners! Jesus, especially in His suffering, enables ALL who repent to come to God! That’s the good news of Jesus!

#3 Philip connects the eunuch to Jesus and the church. (8:36-40)

Philip not only neighbors well, is missional, but he is invitational.

36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

What is water doing on the desert road?!?! This region does not have standing bodies of water like this. Only temporary streams and pools from rain. Though Luke does not state that this is a miracle, it is clear that God has arranged all of this. The crucified and risen King Jesus has removed every barrier, including sin itself, between the eunuch and God, and now it’s time to bring this lost son home!

38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Normally baptism is done with a church, but this is obviously not a normal situation. There is no church yet on the desert road or in Ethiopia, so Philip acts as a missionary, a representative of Jesus’ church, to start a new church with the first member being this eunuch. We don’t know what happened to the eunuch but presumably he went back to his homeland and spread the gospel there. Philip too moves on to share the good news along the coastlands of Palestine, which would have been full of Gentiles.

The Lessons

#1 Follow the Spirit all the way into mission.

Do you want to hear from the Holy Spirit? Sometimes people are almost waiting for God to write something in the clouds before they make a move: “You should marry so-and-so” or “Apply for such-and-such job.” Hearing the Holy Spirit is not so much about waiting around and watching for signs on what to do next. It’s more about learning God’s heart and then just obeying in whatever situation your way. It’s less about waiting for a specific word as you go about life and more about obeying His revealed Word as you go about life.

How do you hear from God? Read and listen to the Bible. Pray to God as you hear from Him. Surround yourself with church members to help each other follow Jesus. Following God’s will for your life is not stumbling into some grand and elaborate plan for the rest of your life but the moment-by-moment decision to live the kind of life you’re learning from Jesus. What prevents you from following the Spirit’s lead in your daily life? Is His voice crowded out by TV or news or social media or friends who don’t encourage you to follow Jesus?

We need to take it one step further though. Following the Spirit is not just about you and doing the right thing (though it certainly begins with that)! Because the “right thing” is always LOVE, the Spirit will constantly be leading you to love others. This might be sacrificing your wants for your family, spending time with a fellow church member, or reaching out to an unbeliever. I think many Christian get stuck before they get to this. I know I do. We falsely believe that all God wants is for us to be saved from hell and be a good person. But we miss the fact that following Jesus means helping others follow Him too.

Do you remember the story of Jonah? Maybe you remember the part where he was swallowed by a fish? Well, the whole story is that God told Jonah to go to Nineveh and tell them they needed to repent of their sin. Jonah refused and famously became fish bait. Philip is almost like an “anti-Jonah.” God tells him to go to a strange person, and he obeys right away, and God changes a life through it.

At yesterday’s work day at the building, I saw Todd Brown, one of your fellow members, look up from laying mulch out by the road and strike up a conversation with a neighbor walking their dog. Todd was aware of and engaged with the person God put near him. Maybe the whole reason the Spirit led us all to the work day yesterday was to create an opportunity for that encounter? Who knows what God will do with that? We just need to keep obeying.

We don’t need to wait to hear the words “Go to that chariot.” If God is in control of everything, then every person you meet, live with, work with, and are online with is sent to you from God. And sometimes He’ll even nudge you toward people, sometimes even on the other side of the world, if you’re listening.

#2 Be ready to share the Gospel using Scripture.

Philip does nothing but obey the Spirit and explain the Gospel from the Bible. There’s obviously no better way to share Jesus than with Scripture. That’s Jesus, in His words. We often won’t be able to use much Scripture at first when sharing Christ, if that person doesn’t respect Scripture. What we say in that situation must be biblical, but it may not help to just quote and explain Scripture, unless they are willing to listen.

But Philip explaining Jesus from Scripture the Ethiopian eunuch is a GREAT model, for example, for parents who are bringing their children to church and reading them the Bible at home, and want to connect their kids to Jesus. This is how Emily and I evangelize our children. We teach them Scripture from a young age and connect the dots through the years. It’s like laying kindling around a campfire and igniting it with a spark. Put Scripture around their hearts by teaching and modeling and repenting, and pray for the Holy Spirit spark by sharing Jesus.

Someone give me your favorite Bible passage and I’ll try to make a connection to the good news of Jesus…

Everyone in the world needs to hear God’s Story. That’s not just on our missionaries, our pastors. That’s on all of us. How well are you getting to know God’s Story? Well enough to explain it?

#3 Be baptized into His kingdom.

Jesus commanded all of His followers to baptize new followers to publicly identify with Him, and then, throughout Acts, in obedience to Jesus, new followers are baptized to publicly identify with Him. Jesus wants us to have this public starting point to our walk. Something tangible that links us to His tangible death and resurrection. Like a wedding ceremony and a ring on the finger, your baptism is a personal and public statement: “Jesus, I’m Yours because, at the cross, You said, ‘You’re mine!’” If you’re a follower of Jesus but haven’t been baptized, what’s holding you back?

In this week’s church-wide New Testament reading plan, we read Luke 15, where Jesus tells three consecutive parables about how happy we get when we find something we love that had been lost. First, a shepherd loses one of his 100 sheep, and, when he finds it, he’s so happy. Second, a woman loses one of her 10 coins, her life savings, and, when she finds it, she’s so happy. Third, a father loses one of his 2 sons to rebellion, but, when his lost son comes home, he is so happy! Jesus’ point? When God finds a lost son or daughter…He is so happy! All of heaven rejoices! And we should rejoice with it. Come to Jesus, friend, and, brothers and sisters–help others come to Him.

Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion

What prevents you from following the Spirit’s lead moment-by-moment? What unbelieving/unchurched people is the Spirit nudging you toward?
How could you use your favorite verse/passage to explain the good news of Jesus to an unbeliever? Practice with another believer. What unbeliever could you share it with?
If you truly believe in Jesus but haven’t been baptized, what’s holding you back? What can you do about it?

Resurrection Boldness (Acts 7:54-8:4)

What would it take for you to be willing to die for someone or something else? People are willing to make sacrifices for a lot of things…loved ones, their nation, their religion, their job, sports, etc. You even made a sacrifice to be here today or to participate online. You could have done something else. You may be thinking, “Well it’s Easter! Of course I’d be here.” But did you know that there are people in this room who make sacrifices to gather with the church to worship and learn from Jesus every single week? Or, during the pandemic, making sure to gather online? You may be thinking, “Every week? That’s a bit much.” But I’m telling you, they delight to make that weekly sacrifice. We sacrifice for people and things that are important to us. Many Christians sacrifice a lot to serve King Jesus, but what about the ultimate sacrifice—martyrdom?

The self-sacrifice of the “martyr” has been an inspiration in virtually every culture and nation throughout time. Today, on Easter Sunday, we’ll learn the powerful story of the first person to die for Christ–Stephen–and why he was willing to give it all. And as we go through the story, put yourself in this martyr–Stephen’s–shoes hat would it take for you to be willing to go that far?

We first met Stephen when the church chose him, along with six others also full of the Holy Spirit, to help pass out food to church widows every day. Stephen wasn’t only a compassionate and organized church leader; he was also a gifted teacher. His sermons about Jesus drew opposition, and Stephen was arrested and put on trial. During Holy Week, we studied Stephen’s speech, which was about how Israel had often rejected God’s messengers–from Joseph rejected by his brothers to Moses rejected by Israel to other prophets rejected by hard-hearted people to Jesus Himself rejected just a few years earlier by this very Sanhedrin. They didn’t like Stephen’s speech very much, and, in fact, they rejected God’s messenger once again…

The Story

#1 God gave Stephen a vision of King Jesus. (Acts 7:54-56)

54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

“The Son of Man being at the right hand of God” is a biblical way of saying that God has made Jesus King. This was not a new idea to Stephen. For example, Jesus says in His Great Commission, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” Jesus is ultimately in charge of this world. He’ll ultimately get whatever He wants and right what wrongs He sees. No nation or government or official, no technology or company or CEO, no angel or demon or Satan himself is ultimately in charge of this world. Only Jesus. Stephen’s whole life had become centered on the authority of Christ. God graciously gave him some sort of visual confirmation of the truth he already believed.

Stephen wears King Jesus’ authority like armor. I used to be a super shy kid. When I was little, I was so shy that adults would make fun of me for being so shy, which I might add did not help. One of the first times I felt like I came out of my shell was, believe it or not, when, at 16, I got my first official job at McDonald’s. There was something about wearing that uniform and having a purpose given to me by the great Ronald Mcdonald himself, that gave me confidence when speaking to coworkers and customers. You never would have guessed how shy I was once I put on the shirt and the hat and stepped behind the counter and boldly proclaimed, “Welcome to McDonalds! May I take your order?” Wearing a uniform carries someone else’s authority and instills confidence. A better example might be when I, on our mission trip to Mexico at age 13, shared my testimony with crowds of people who didn’t speak my language. I was incredibly nervous, but thanks to a translator, a supportive team, and the Holy Spirit, I was able to honor Christ. Our self-confidence should have limits, but our Christ-confidence should be limitless. It was for Stephen. Stephen wore the authority of King Jesus like a uniform, like armor, as he bore witness to Christ.

#2 Stephen dies for Jesus like Jesus. (7:57-8:1a)

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

What a childish and brutal response to Stephen. Plugging their ears and yelling, “Blablablabla” to avoid hearing his true declaration that “Jesus is indeed King.” A stoning was a brutal yet biblical way to execute a blasphemer in ancient Israel (Leviticus 24:10-23), which is what they had charged Stephen with. Stonings were done by the whole community, so there had to be widespread agreement that the person was truly guilty in order to prevent falsehoods about God from spreading and to prevent injustice against the accused. And yet in this instance obviously, the Sanhedrin failed God and Stephen, and this innocent witness of Christ suffers.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. 8:1a And Saul approved of their killing him.

Because of this story and others like it, the Greek word for witness (mar’-tes) has over time become the English word martyr. The book of Acts, starting here with Stephen, creates such a close association between bearing witness for Jesus and sacrificing your life for Him. Martyrdom IS the ultimate witness. You demonstrate how important something is to you by how much you’re willing to give up for it. If you’re willing to give your life to it, then it’s more important than everything else in your life combined.

Stephen offers two prayers to Jesus as he is crushed by stones, both of which echo prayers Christ made from the cross to the Father. First, Stephen prays, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Stephen is trusting Christ to the very end. Death is a scary thing. I totally trust Jesus to care of me in death, and yet I still fear the unknowns of death. Stephen is clinging to Jesus throughout his horrifying final minutes. On the cross, Jesus prayed something like this to His Father.

Stephen also prayed, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Stephen’s killers are guilty of great sin. They have rejected Jesus’ servant and rushed him to execution. There’s a hot place in hell for them…unless King Jesus, who stands ready to judge, forgives them. This is the miracle Stephen prays for, even as they bash his brains out. He doesn’t pray for it to stop or even judgment on his killers, which may have been within his rights because it’s not wrong to pray for God to get justice on His enemies! Instead, Stephen prays for his killers…just like Jesus prayed to His Father.

Here’s the beautiful thing, friends: King Jesus answered Stephen’s prayer. We know at least one, hopefully more but at least one, of Stephen’s killers was eventually forgiven. His name was Saul, later known as Paul. Yes, the one taking their coats, the one cheering them on. We’ll see in a couple chapters that Christ will personally visit Saul and call him to repent and follow and he will! Hard-hearted as Saul was, between the grace of God and the prayers of Stephen, his hard heart didn’t stand a chance! Saul will be forgiven, his hands stained red with Stephen’s blood will be washed clean by the Servant King who poured out His own blood for him!

Keep praying, brothers and sisters! Don’t give up on those unbelievers and unchurched people in your life! God saves! And perhaps you yourself have not repented of your sin and begun following Jesus! God hasn’t given up on you yet either! Jesus is SO ready to forgive you, you need only turn from your sin to Him. May the Lord forgive you, awakening your heart to the ugliness of your sin and the beauty of His glory that you might give yourself to Him and be baptized and walk in His ways.

#3 Persecution helps rather than deters Jesus’ witnesses. (8:1b-4)

8:1b On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. 4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

One commentator said that, despite how bad it was, the persecution “creates a band of missionaries not refugees” (Larkin). These scattered Christians aren’t running for their lives, commiserating what they lost; they’re pressing on in the mission to bear witness about Jesus! Now that’s not to say that persecution always indefinitely helps the cause of Christ. Muslims in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia have been persecuting Christians to one degree or another for over 1,000 years, and they have, to a large degree, snuffed out the church in those regions. Thousands of people in those parts of the world die every day without hearing the witness about Christ because of a millennia of systemic oppression. There are very few Christians in those parts of the world. However, God miraculously used the persecution following Stephen’s martyrdom to continue building His church.

The Lessons

#1 If Jesus rose and now reigns, we have no choice but to trust and obey.

I’m inspired by Stephen’s confidence in Christ. How about you? I was reaching out to an unchurched, possibly unbelieving person suffering from a terminal illness. I was pleading with her to trust God and to follow Christ for the forgiveness of sin. But she asked, “How can you be so sure about God?” That was a good question, because I’m sure I sounded convinced. The historicity of the resurrection of Jesus convinced Stephen and the apostles and billions to this day, including me and every member of Calvary. There’s lots of reasons, but here’s my personal top three:

How do we know for sure that Jesus rose?

Empty tomb
Eyewitness testimony
Exploding worldview

This is not just an exercise in intellectual certainty; it impacts my daily attitudes and choices. If I really believe that Jesus rose and reigns, I’d be crazy not to submit to Him, which means trusting Him with everything in our lives, doing what is right and good, even if it’s hard, and trusting Jesus with the outcome, trusting Jesus that, even when we sin, that He will forgive. For some of us, that decision to trust and obey must begin today! Turn from sin and to the crucified and risen King today and trust Him with the rest of your life and death and eternal life. Be baptized and begin following Christ. If you want to commit to Christ today, let someone know because following Jesus is as public as it is personal. Tell a Christian you know and trust, perhaps the friend who invited you today, or let Calvary’s leaders know by connecting with us at calvarymuskegon.com.

For those of us that are already trusting and obeying our crucified and risen King…

#2 Endure rejection with courage and humility.

First, the timid witnesses among us must become bold. There have been several moments in my life, to my shame, where I had an opportunity to talk about Jesus but kept my mouth shut. Let’s think about Stephen for a minute, those of us who are afraid. Stephen was able to stand firm in the midst of rejection because He knew Christ had risen and was reigning. Stephen remained faithful as stones crushed his body because Christ once rolled another much larger stone away from the entrance of His tomb. Don’t be embarrassed about Jesus? He’s the last thing anyone should be embarrassed about. In Isaac Adams’ little book What If I’m Discouraged in My Evangelism?, which is available in the lobby by the way to anyone who needs encouragement in sharing Christ, wrote…

**“The irony of our fear of man is that, if anything, Jesus should be embarrassed to be with us, not the other way around.” (What If I’m Discouraged in My Evangelism? by Isaac Adams)**

Brother or sister, it’s not like when you die and get to heaven that Jesus will say, “Oh yeah, I forgot I died for you?!?! Uh…why don’t you kinda stay out of sight…try to keep quiet…uh yeah.” No, even though that might be deserved! Of course not! If He gave His life for you, He’ll give you His greatest welcome. He’s not embarrassed of you; He’s proud of you. We don’t deserve that of course, but it’s true. If He’s proud of us, well, how can we not be proud of Him and boldly boast about Him to everyone God brings our way?

Timid witnesses must become bold, but bombastic witnesses must become humble. The bombastic witness cares more about what they have to say, important as it may be, than the people they are saying it to. Jesus’ authority does not give us license to become balloons full of hot air, venting our opinions about anything and everything. Everything we say and do should be done in Christ’s name, which means it must focus on biblical truths and display biblical attitudes. We shouldn’t become sociopaths who are numb to other people. As bold as Stephen was, he loved people to the very end, even his enemies.

The kind of witness we must have is Christ-like witness, witness that is full of Spirit-wrought humble confidence. The kind of witness that does not back down from speaking of Christ and lovingly prays that God would save even our opponents, even in the face of martyrdom.

Would I be willing to go that far and with that attitude? I’m not sure…I hope that someday I’ll be that Christ-like. Apart from just the fear of pain and the unknowns of death, I struggle over what that would mean for my family. But does God really need me to take care of them? Sure, he has charged me with providing for them materially and spiritually now, but if He ever called me to lay down my life for His cause, would He not provide for my family even more in my absence?

Dying for Jesus is, in all probability, a hypothetical thought experiment. The more realistic question for us then is this: Am I willing to be joked about, ignored, ghosted, uninvited, unfriended, slandered, or bullied for the name and fame of Jesus? Would I? Would you? I hope we will. Because He rose and because He reigns.

Questions for Reflection and/or Discussion

What would it take for you to be willing to die for Jesus?
How confident are you in your belief that Christ rose from the dead? What are your reasons for believing and/or doubting?
How does Jesus’ resurrection give humble confidence when His witnesses run into opposition?