Paul in Acts: A Holy Opportunity

Posted on February 7, 2025 by Jason

Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.

The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. When he came and saw the grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord with steadfast purpose, for he was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people were added to the Lord.

So Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul, and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called Christians.

Acts 11:19-26

Prior to Stephen’s death in Acts 7, the followers of Jesus were primarily concentrated in Jerusalem. But after his death, many of these believers fled in fear, going to different places throughout the Roman Empire. At first, that might have seemed like a bad thing. And the persecution that arose was a nightmare, without a doubt. But in the hands of our God, even tragedy can become a holy opportunity leading to something redemptive. Because in this great scattering, these believers take the gospel message to all of these new places and people.

Luke tells us about how this played out in Antioch, the third largest city in the Roman Empire at the time. Antioch had an estimated population north of 500,000 and it was notorious as a place of immorality and emperor worship. You wouldn’t expect a religious revival to break out in Antioch. But this just goes to show that if the gospel can change lives in a place like Antioch, it can change lives anywhere in the world. And we’ve seen this now for two thousand years.

There was a large Jewish population in Antioch and soon the believers were sharing the good news about Israel’s Messiah with them. But they didn’t stop there. They also had an opportunity to tell their non-Jewish neighbors about Christ — and that’s exactly what some of them did.

Acts 11:19-20 is the first biblical account we have of evangelism being done by someone other than the apostles and the prophets of the early church. As you read through Acts, the previous examples of evangelism come from leaders like Simon Peter or Stephen or Phillip. But here, in Antioch of all places, these believers don’t have any of these titles or prestige. These are just men and women who believe in Jesus and when the opportunity presents itself, they step up and use their gifts for the sake of the Kingdom — because the work of bearing witness to the lordship of Jesus falls to each believer.

And Luke summarizes this work succinctly in verse 21, noting that the hand of the Lord was with them.

When you step forward to seize a holy opportunity, you can be confident that the hand of the Lord will be with you. I hope that gives you confidence as you consider some of the holy opportunities for you to use your particular spiritual gifts: when you take a risk and start up that spiritual conversation with your friend; when you sign up to serve in a way that is far outside of your comfort zone; when you give sacrificially — giving until it hurts — for the sake of the Kingdom. When you do these things, you can be sure that the hand of the Lord will be with you, just as He was with our earliest brothers and sisters in Christ.

So you have a situation in Antioch where some Gentiles have turned to the Lord. When the Jerusalem church hears about this, they send Barnabas to Antioch. As we noted in our previous post, Barnabas was a Levite whose given name was Joseph (Acts 4:36-37), but the apostles had taken to calling him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement.” This same word is used elsewhere in the New Testament to describe the Holy Spirit as an encourager, an advocate, a helper. And Barnabas is hailed as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24). This Greek root word is also connected to the word “calling,” which is fitting because there’s a sense in which this kind of godly encouragement helps us to discover our calling.

Acts 11:23 says that when he arrived in Antioch, Barnabas “exhorted” the believers. We might miss this in our English translations, but “exhort” is once again the same word translated elsewhere as “encourage.” When the son of encouragement arrives, he encourages the people. He uses his gift to bless others. And many people come to the Lord as a result.

But this godly encouragement creates yet another holy opportunity. The believers in Antioch begin to ask, “How are we going to disciple these new Gentile believers?” At this point, Barnabas departs and heads off to Tarsus to retrieve Paul in Acts 11:25. Why?

The answer is found in the story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9. As we have already noted, Barnabas played a key role in Paul being accepted by the brethren in Jerusalem. After Barnabas vouches for him before the apostles, Paul is given permission to continue the same bold preaching ministry he began in Damascus.

So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him.

Acts 9:28-29

Note that a primary focus of Paul’s ministry in Jerusalem was to dispute the worldview of the Hellenists. In Acts 9, these Hellenists were likely Greek-speaking and Greek-thinking Jews. Paul, well steeped in Israel’s scriptures and zealous for his new Lord Jesus, steps into the fray and boldly confronts some of the erroneous aspects of this prevailing worldview. Of course, the Jewish powers in Jerusalem seek to have Paul killed — which will become a prevailing theme in Luke’s record of Paul’s ministry. But now, possibly as many as ten years later, as the disciples in Antioch are wondering how to disciple the Gentile Hellenist converts in their midst, Barnabas remembers Paul and his skillful handling of the scriptures.

Barnabas goes to Tarsus because he sees this as a holy opportunity for someone like Paul to use his gifts. Barnabas knows that Paul has a tremendous mind and that he’s a bold preacher. He knows Paul won’t back down when he’s confronted with some of the prevailing worldviews of the Greek world. He is perfectly suited to help disciple these Hellenists in the way of Jesus — that assignment seems tailor-made for someone like Paul. So Barnabas goes to recruit his old friend to help with this work.

And this holy opportunity launches Paul into a world of ministry and service.

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Paul in Acts: Boldness

Posted on February 6, 2025 by Jason

And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Acts 9:20

But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.

Acts 9:27-28

Boldness is one of the hallmarks of the disciples of Christ as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts. When the opportunity arises for Simon Peter to preach repentance — first on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), then in Solomon’s Portico (Acts 3) — he steps forward with Spirit-filled boldness. As opposition to the Christian message mounts, the disciples pray, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness,” (Acts 4:29). After being imprisoned and interrogated by the high priest, Peter and the apostles refuse to mute their gospel proclamation, saying, “We must obey God rather than men,” (Acts 5:29). And Stephen, surely sensing the malevolent desires of the crowd, continues to preach boldly in the name of Christ right up to the last.

Luke is signaling to the reader that Paul’s conversion and subsequent baptism and reception of the Spirit have empowered him to participate in bold gospel proclamation alongside the other apostles.

What might that same boldness look like in our day?

In Acts 9:27-28, Paul’s preaching is carried out “in the name of Jesus.” Given that the leaders in Jerusalem were responsible for executing Jesus, to preach His crucifixion and resurrection would indeed require unfathomable boldness. Not only would the message of the cross be an indictment on these leaders — especially given the “kangaroo court” nature of the sham trial the Sanhedrin carried out against Jesus in the middle of the night — but more importantly, the message of His resurrection vindicated Jesus as the Son of God (Acts 9:20). This would stand as an act of judgment by God against Jerusalem’s leaders, calling into question their standing as trusted interpreters of God’s Word and “the signs of the times” (Matt. 16:3).

The picture of Paul that emerges in these early chapters is of a bold and zealous man, fearless and argumentative and uncompromising in his convictions. Paul is not a man of half measures. His commitments define him. He declares the name of the Lord with as much passionate intensity as he possessed when he carried out death threats against His followers. This doesn’t always play well, particularly among the Jewish traditionalists; twice in a span of six verses (Acts 9:24-29) these opponents try to kill Paul. What was it about him that rubbed people the wrong way? Clearly it is this mixture of zeal and boldness, combined with the conviction that Israel’s Messiah was a crucified and resurrected Nazarene.

After his dispute with the Hellenists in Jerusalem (Acts 9:29), the disciples sneak him out of town, first to Caesarea and then back home to Tarsus. And this is where Luke will park Paul for the next few chapters. He must tell the all important story of Cornelius, which involves Simon Peter once more. But on the heels of this monumental event, Luke will return to the story of Paul. Scholars speculate that as many as ten years could have passed between the events of Acts 9 and the events of Acts 11. What was Paul doing in these critical years?

Well, if Acts 9 is any indication, I’m sure he was about the work of teaching and preaching, boldly arguing from the Hebrew scriptures that God had always intended for His anointed one to die an atoning death for sin, ruffling feathers with his zealous proclamation in the name of Jesus, the Son of God.

Posted in Devotional, Faith, God, Gospel, Israel, Jesus, Kingdom Values, Ministry, Missiology, Paul, Scripture | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

College Pitcher

Posted on February 5, 2025 by Jason

Last night was a big night for this young man. Joshua has dreamed of playing college baseball for a long, long time. And last night, this dream became a reality.

From the very beginning, Joshua was obsessed with baseball. I’m thinking he was probably around two years old when we started rolling the ball back and forth on the living room floor. Sunny didn’t love it when he would pick up the ball and throw it overhand in the house — and we’ve had plenty of bruises and broken glass along the way. But I can remember holding my breath when I saw that he kept throwing with his left hand. And that’s where it all started.

I’m not setting out to write a sappy retrospective on how much this game has meant to him — and to me. But on a night like last night, you can’t help but look back. I thought of all the coaches he’s had along the way, men who have believed in him and poured into him and challenged him to be better, as a player and as a young man. And my heart was filled with gratitude for them. I also couldn’t help but think about all the hard work that’s gone into this — the countless hours of throwing and running and throwing some more. The long tossing. The videos about pitch grips. The hundreds of times he’d say, “Dad, do you want to throw?”

I guess this is getting sappy despite my best efforts.

All of this to say, I’m proud of Joshua. People say stuff like, “It’s just a game.” And to you, maybe. But not to him. Not to me. He’s poured too much of himself into this game for us to say, “It’s just a game.” This game has been one of the greatest teachers in his life. It’s hard and it’ll test your mental fortitude in unique ways. But I’m proud to say that Joshua has learned these lessons — and he’s still standing.

And the game isn’t through with him yet.

That day will come — it always does.

But not today.

Last night, his dream became reality: a clean inning of relief with one strikeout and two ground outs on 12 pitches. Also of note, he set new velocity PRs (personal records) on his fastball and slider.

And just like that, he’s a college pitcher.

Here he is coming out of the bullpen for the first time:

This is the first batter he faced and his first collegiate strikeout:

Filthy slider:

And a great play by his shortstop to end the inning:

He wore #32 in middle school and high school. Might take me a while to get used to seeing #33 instead!

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How Is This Comfortable?

Posted on January 31, 2025 by Jason
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Paul in Acts: Barnabas

Posted on January 29, 2025 by Jason

And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus.

Acts 9:26-27

After surviving an assassination attempt in Damascus, Paul heads back to Jerusalem. But if he thought he would be received warmly there, he was sorely mistaken. No doubt he was thoroughly condemned by his former associates who opposed the apostolic claims about Jesus. But he is rebuffed by the disciples in Jerusalem, too. After the terror he has inflicted on their brothers and sisters in Christ, who could blame them for questioning the authenticity of Paul’s alleged conversion?

At this point, Luke reintroduces Barnabas into the narrative. He is first described in Acts 4 as a Levite, a native of Cyprus whose given name was Joseph but whom the apostles had nicknamed “son of encouragement.” This Greek word translated “encouragement” is used elsewhere to describe the Holy Spirit as a comforter, an advocate. And this is fitting because Luke will go on to describe Barnabas as a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith (Acts 11:24).

In this critical moment in Paul’s life, Barnabas earns his nickname once again. He encourages Paul, vouches for him, advocates on his behalf before the apostles. He bears witness to the legitimacy of Paul’s conversion. He tells the brethren that Paul saw Jesus on the road to Damascus and that he preached with great boldness thereafter.

And this makes all the difference in Paul’s life. In this moment when people are questioning Paul’s identity, Barnabas sees something in Paul, something that others can’t quite see at the time.

What would have become of Paul if it were not for Barnabas?

Imagine a world where Barnabas doesn’t speak up for Paul in Jerusalem. Would he have ever been accepted by the believers there? Or would they have continued to reject him? And if this rejection had persisted, how would Paul have reacted? As we said before, Paul’s zeal for righteousness is one of his defining traits, which seems to make him somewhat impervious to criticism. But at the same time, it’s hard to imagine that his career as an itinerant preacher and church planter could have developed to any substantial degree without the approval of the mother church in Jerusalem. Is it possible that their rejection would have been enough to sideline him, to keep him from fulfilling his purpose?

I submit to you that one of the greatest evangelists and church planters the world has ever seen might never have had such an impact for the Kingdom if it weren’t for the encouragement of Barnabas.

Sometimes, all it takes for us to develop our gifts is the right bit of encouragement from the right person at the right time.

Everyone needs a Barnabas.

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Ready for the Season!

Posted on January 27, 2025 by Jason
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Paul in Acts: Zeal

Posted on January 22, 2025 by Jason

For some days he was with the disciples in Damascus. And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.”

Acts 9:19-20

On the heels of his conversion and baptism, Paul immediately proclaims that Jesus is the Son of God. Whereas his previous mission would have led him to the synagogues to root out any confession of Jesus as Messiah, Paul has become an ambassador of Christ’s lordship. No half-measures, no waiting around. Paul immediately gets to work to set the record straight regarding Jesus.

This is a telling snapshot. It reveals much about Paul’s character. In his excellent work, Paul: A Biography, N.T. Wright highlights the esteemed Hebrew virtue of zeal as perhaps Paul’s most essential characteristic. In the tradition of Phinehas from Numbers 25, Paul possessed zeal for God’s righteousness. And much like Phinehas before him, he was willing to shed blood in the name of God. And although his life was radically reoriented on the road to Damascus, his zeal for the Lord remains, channelled now toward announcing the Good News of God’s grace.

Paul’s zeal drives him to preach Jesus immediately. And this same zeal seems to have rubbed some people the wrong way.

And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon his name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.

When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.

Acts 9:21-25

Paul confounds and confuses his opponents by “proving that Jesus was the Christ” — a term that carries the meaning of “join” or “put together.” As scholar John Polhill writes, this word “seems to picture his assembling Old Testament texts to demonstrate how Christ fulfilled them.” This zealous work prompts some Jews in Damascus to plot against Paul. I wonder if some of Paul’s former cronies are a part of the plan to murder him.

But the plan comes to light and Paul is delivered to safety, per the Lord’s plan. But verse 25 has another revealing detail: “but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.” It’s not just that Paul immediately begins preaching in the name of Jesus. This verse makes it clear that he also began immediately discipling people in the way of Jesus, teaching at an individual level, encouraging the believers, praying with and for the believers, helping them grow in “unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God” so that they might be mature, “attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ,” (Eph. 4:13).

Zealous for proclaiming the name of the Lord.

Zealous for discipling others in the name of the Lord.

The picture of Paul that emerges here is one of power, conviction, and boldness. In a word, Paul is a man of great zeal.

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Paul in Acts: Grace

Posted on January 19, 2025 by Jason

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Acts 9:4-6

When the moment came — the moment to really put Paul in his place, to lower the boom and let him have it — Jesus offered grace instead.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.”

I would expect the next words to be harsh words, words of judgment, something along the lines of, “And now, that you might know my power and my exceeding glory, may you suffer my eternal wrath, for their blood is on your hands, Saul.”

But thankfully, that’s not what Jesus says.

Instead, He simply tells Paul to get up and go to Damascus and await further instruction.

Of course, Saul couldn’t see anything, so those who were with him had to lead him by the hand into the city. They had heard the voice but they hadn’t seen Jesus (Acts 9:7). Imagine how unnerving this must have been for these men. It certainly seems to have taken the wind out of everyone’s sails. Best we can tell, they never laid a finger on a single disciple in Damascus, their mission drowned out by the booming voice of Jesus calling down from heaven.

And so Saul sat like this for three days — in the dark, unable to see, forgoing food and water, his mind singularly focused on repentance. Acts 9:11 says that Saul spent this time praying. What do you think he prayed about? I imagine he was saying something like, Please, Lord. Forgive me. I was wrong. I’ve made a terrible, terrible mistake. Please, Lord. Be merciful.

Saul is going through death before he will be reborn. He sits in the darkness for three days, a parallel to Christ’s three days in the tomb.

But somewhere in all of that praying, God gave Saul a vision of grace. Specifically, it was a vision of a man named Ananias who would come and lay hands on him, restoring his sight. By grace, Saul was to be the chosen instrument to carry the name of the Lord before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15). And Ananias would be the chosen instrument of reconciliation for Saul.

Of course, Ananias needed his own vision. When the Lord commissioned him for this particular assignment, Ananias registered his concern: “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints at Jerusalem.” Saul has brought much suffering to those who dared to proclaim the name of Christ. And now, in a twist of irony, Jesus says, “For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name,” (Acts 9:16).

This would be Saul’s second chance. When Ananias laid his hands on him and the scales fell from his eyes, Saul’s first move was to get up and to be baptized (Acts 9:18). Nevermind the fact that he hadn’t had anything to eat or drink for three days (Acts 9:9). With great urgency, Saul rushes off to be baptized in the name of his Lord.

Immersion in the name of Christ goes all the way back to the Day of Pentecost, the founding of the church itself (Acts 2:38). It is a ritual act of identifying with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. In baptism, we align ourselves with Jesus. As He died on the cross, we die to ourselves. As He was buried in the tomb, we are buried in the waters of baptism. And as He rose again on the third day, we are raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:4).

Understood this way, baptism is a means of grace.

And for Saul, as for all of us, this grace makes all the difference.

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Paul in Acts: Persecuting Jesus

Posted on January 15, 2025 by Jason

And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

Acts 9:4

At the beginning of Acts 9, things must be going well for Paul (Saul). He’s expanding his work, asking the high priest for letters authorizing him to go to Damascus to exterminate the Jesus movement after the execution of Stephen. The opening verse of the chapter couldn’t be any clearer: he is breathing out murderous threats against the disciples. If he finds believers in Damascus, he is to bring them to Jerusalem as prisoners. Knowing his story as we do, we see the irony: this is ultimately the direction Paul’s own story will head.

And I am intrigued by the words Jesus spoke to him on the road to Damascus: “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting ME?”

How is Paul persecuting Jesus?

There’s only one answer: by persecuting His followers.

We can infer a powerful truth here. Jesus is so intimately connected to His followers that He experiences their persecution as His own.

This is amazing. Jesus is the living embodiment of what Paul would later teach: rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep.

Paul has gotten it all wrong. These Christ-followers aren’t the dangerous rogues Paul assumed them to be with their claims of a crucified and resurrected Messiah. This small but resilient band of believers has rightly discerned that God’s Messianic promises to Israel have now been fulfilled in Jesus. And all of this comes crashing down upon Paul on the road to Damascus as he hears, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” (Acts 9:5).

This is a word of comfort, a word of Good News — that Jesus feels what His followers feel.

God has put me in a position to hear people’s pain on a regular basis. My heart breaks for the suffering and adversity so many good people have to endure. But one of the only things that seems to truly bring comfort is the knowledge that we don’t suffer alone. To have someone join you in your suffering is often the only practical form of comfort we can experience.

And to know that Jesus feels the persecution of His people is one of the greatest proofs of His identity as Immanuel — God with us. The cross itself is a testimony to His willingness to join us in our pain. We’ve often pointed to the cross as the place where Jesus identifies with our sin. And this is certainly true, as the atonement theories will testify.

But this is not exclusively true. It’s not the only thing going on at the cross. Yes, this is where Jesus identifies with our sin — but it is also the place where He identifies with our suffering. Roman crucifixion was specifically engineered to maximize pain. It was the most shameful death human minds could ever devise. And Jesus HAD to die THIS way.

The scriptures are clear: Jesus had to die at Passover because of His identification as the Lamb of God who takes away our sin. This is the necessity of WHEN He died.

But He also had to die in this particular way in order to most fully identify with our suffering. He had to die on that cross — the necessity of HOW He died.

And in His resurrected state, He still identifies with our suffering.

As these early believers are being persecuted, Jesus experiences this as persecution within Himself.

And as His followers today suffer for righteousness’ sake, He feels this as well.

This is Good News, that Immanuel is still with us, that He feels what we feel. In this, I find comfort and hope. And I hope you do, too.

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Paul in Acts: The Obedience of Faith

Posted on January 12, 2025 by Jason

Before looking at the story of Paul’s conversion in Acts 9, I’m reminded of something he says in Romans:

[Jesus is the one] through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations…

Romans 1:5

What does he mean by “the obedience of faith?”

To believe in Christ is to put one’s trust in Him. It is more than an intellectual assent to a set of propositional truths. It is a highly relational act. And obedience is a piece of this relationship. This surely troubles some who would emphasize the efficacy of grace as a way of making our faith attractive to outsiders. But obedience should be understood as the natural next step in our relationship with Jesus. After all, we have ascribed to Him the title “Lord.”

Scholar and translator David Stern has termed this “trust-grounded obedience.” Maybe that communicates the point in a palatable way. It is the obedience that comes from faith, obedience that comes because one believes.

I asked my family what they thought this meant. I said, “What is the relationship between faith and obedience?” Sunny replied, “I believe, therefore I obey.” She said this was just part of the gospel she heard growing up and she even said this is something that has been reinforced through her reading of scripture — especially the writings of Paul.

Jackson added an interesting point. He noted that this works differently in different people. Whereas some individuals believe and this leads them to obey, others “obey their way into the faith.” He said this was basically the way it worked for him. He grew up around the faith and was obedient to the precepts and the “rules” — and this was helpful in leading him to the point of faith.

Joshua added that loyalty was a key part of obedience for him. He said he finds it hard to say that you’re obedient if you’re not remaining loyal to your commitment. In a way, Joshua is defining obedience as an act of faithfulness, as being loyal to your faith – which is simply another way of explaining Stern’s “trust-grounded obedience.”

I think this entire discussion is a helpful way of explaining what Paul means by the phrase, “the obedience of faith.” This is one of the keys to the gospel he proclaims. And it is a significant piece of his story, beginning in Acts 9.

Posted in Church, Devotional, Discipleship, Faith, Family, God, Gospel, Jesus, Kids, Kingdom Values, Obedience, Paul, Scripture, Sunny | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment