Theology for Everybody: Romansنموونە

Before Paul became the writer, preacher, and missionary we now know him to be, he led quite a different life. Paul was his Greek name, but his Hebrew name was Saul, after the Old Testament King. Saul was born in Tarsus in Cilicia (modern-day Turkey) around 4 BC. He was from the tribe of Benjamin, and according to Jewish tradition, he was circumcised at eight days old. Saul grew up in Jerusalem and learned how to be a tentmaker. He also studied under the renowned rabbi Gamaliel (see Acts 22:3). Fluent in the languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek, and possibly Latin, Saul became a brilliant young Pharisee who was “zealous for God” (v. 3). Saul was also a religious terrorist, much like terrorists we have seen in the Middle East in our own time. This man hated, despised, opposed, persecuted, and murdered Christians, all under the authority of the Jewish religious leaders. In Acts 7, a mob of angry, violent men murdered Stephen, an early church leader, for the “crime” of loving and preaching Jesus. Verse 58 says, “They cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.” Saul was not just an innocent bystander. When a stoning occurred, participants often lay their coats at the feet of the first person who threw a stone to indicate their solidarity with him. Thus, Saul was an approving, emotionally and perhaps physically involved witness who “approved of [Stephen’s] execution” (Acts 8:1). The reign of Saul’s terror had only just begun. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison (Acts 8:1–2). Imagine opening your door to find Saul standing there. He asks, “Do you love Jesus?” If you answered yes, he would arrest and haul you away to be beaten, imprisoned, and possibly murdered. We think the cost of following Jesus is high in our current culture, but the first Christians paid with their bodies and lives. Saul did everything possible to crush the followers of Christ, including trying to make them blaspheme the name of Jesus. He even carried out his persecution in foreign cities (see Acts 26:11). Acts 9:1 says, “Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” Permission was granted. Only a divine intervention could stop Saul’s bloody rampage on the early church. But on the road to Damascus, Saul encountered an unexpected visitor. This visitor would change the trajectory of Saul’s life in a mighty, eternal way. Today’s Reflection Have you ever been persecuted for your faith? If so, what happened?