The End of the Road
Acts 9:1-9
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 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.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:
and suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord
said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the
city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.[1]
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood
speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his
eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him
into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and
neither did eat nor drink.
Introduction:
Reminders
Key verse: 1:8
Turning points: Chs. 2, 7, 9, 13, 15, 21 (central turning
point = ch. 13?)
Trail of Christ: (Mk. 16:20) 2:33, 47; 3:16; 4:10; 7:55; 9:5,
34; 23:11; etc.
Trail of Geography: The center shifts from Jerusalem to
Syrian Antioch to Rome.
Significant
personages and peoples: Peter, then
Paul (lately Stephen, now Philip)
Significant events: 5.
The Conversion of Saul (Acts 9:1-22)
Patterns:
1. miracles → witness
2. preaching to the Jews → Gospel rejected by the Jews → preaching to the Gentiles
3. Jewish opposition to the Gospel and
persecution of the Christians →
the spread of the Christians and the Gospel
Michael Haykin's
overview: "Acts is broken down nicely in to six portions, broken down
by the following summary verses", developing the theme, "The Word did
everything", and documenting the validity of a resounding negative answer
to the question, "Can anything stop the Gospel? NO!"[2]
1. Acts 6:7
2. Acts 9:31
3. Acts 12:24
4. Acts 16:5
5. Acts 19:20
6. Acts 28:30-31
Significance,
Uniqueness, and Character:
1. Acts as History - continuation of the Gospel
- communicated and spread to the world
2. Acts as Transitional - unique Apostolic
foundational period of the Church
3. Acts as Apologetic - Christianity in the
Roman Empire
4. Acts as Polemic - Christianity versus Judaism
“The Damascus Road
Experience” is found in the following places in Acts:
Acts 9:1-30
Acts 22:3-21
Acts 26:2-23
Outline:
I. The Reason to
be on the Road (9:1-3a)
II. The
Conversation on the Road (9:3b-6)
III. The Aftermath
on the Road (9:7-9)
Transition:
2 Tim. 3:16-17 - 16 All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for
instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly
furnished unto all good works.
May this exceptional incident serve as a model for
evangelism?
May this unique event be properly viewed as presenting a
standard for Gospel conversion?
May this unusual episode provide an exemplar or basis for
a theology of grace?
I. The Reason
to be on the Road (9:1-3a)
1 And Saul, yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the
disciples of the Lord, went unto the high priest,
2 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.
3 And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus:
Who are we talking about?
Why Saul?
He is the prime example spelled out in his own inspired
writings of one who possessed great zeal for God, but without knowledge of God.
Rom. 10:1-4 - 1
Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be
saved. 2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according
to knowledge.
3 For they being
ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own
righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. 4
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.
Paul is not unique in being an enemy of God. Anyone who has not seen himself as such has
not seen themselves in the mirror of God’s Word, and would still be such while
this is unconfessed.
Romans 5:10 - For
if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son,
much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
II. The
Conversation on the Road (9:3b-6)
and
suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven:
4 And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice
saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?
5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord
said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the
pricks.
6 And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what
wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the
city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.[3]
What just happened here?
And why?
1. “A chosen vessel” - All believers have this
in common with the Great Apostle
Acts 9:15 - But
the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear
my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:
1 Pet. 1:2 - Elect
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the
Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto
you, and peace, be multiplied.
1 Th. 1:4 - Knowing,
brethren beloved, your election of God.
Col. 3:12 - Put
on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies,
kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
2 Cor. 4:5-7 - 5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ
Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 6 For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to
give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of
the power may be of God, and not of us.
Rom. 9:18-24 - 18
Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he
hardeneth. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who
hath resisted his will? 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against
God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me
thus? 21 Hath not the potter power over
the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto
dishonour? 22 What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power
known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to
destruction: 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the
vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews
only, but also of the Gentiles?
2 Tim. 2:19-21 - 19
Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity.
20 But in a great
house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of
earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man
therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour,
sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.
2. “An Apostle born out of due time” - Modern
day falsely so-called “apostles” (lower case “a”) have no such credentials
1 Cor. 15:8-10 - 8
And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I
am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because
I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am: and
his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more
abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
III. The
Aftermath on the Road (9:7-9)
7 And the men which journeyed with him stood
speechless, hearing a voice, but seeing no man.
8 And Saul arose from the earth; and when his
eyes were opened, he saw no man: but they led him by the hand, and brought him
into Damascus.
9 And he was three days without sight, and neither
did eat nor drink.
“Blind leaders of the blind”
Conclusion:
Instead of Saul bringing those “of the way” bound to
Jerusalem, he is “bound” by Christ to Damascus, and then on from there to the
ends of the earth.
Saul went in a moment from being the persecutor to the
persecuted, from the arrestor to the arrested, from the binder to the bound.
May this exceptional incident serve as a model for
evangelism?
Have you heard of the “Roman Road”?
Meet Christ on the Biblical “roads”!
Meet Christ on the
“Damascus Road”!
Meet Christ on the “Emmaus Road”!
May this unique event be properly viewed as presenting a
standard for Gospel conversion?
May this unusual episode provide an exemplar or basis for
a theology of grace?
[Sermon preached 8
DEC 2013 by Pastor John T. “Jack” Jeffery at Wayside Gospel Chapel, Greentown,
PA.]
Resources:
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old
Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), pp. 513-606.
Darrell L. Bock, Acts, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, eds. Robert W.
Yarbrough and Robert H. Stein (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007)
F. F. Bruce, The
Acts of the Apostles: The Greek Text with Introduction and Commentary, 2nd
ed. (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1951, 1952).
I. Howard Marshall, Acts: An Introduction And
Commentary, Vol. 5 in Tyndale New
Testament Commentaries, gen. ed. Leon Morris (Downers Grove, IL:
InterVarsity Press, 1980; 2008 reprint).
David G. Peterson, The Acts of the Apostles, The Pillar New Testament Commentaries,
gen. ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2009).
John B. Polhill, Acts, Vol. 26 in The New American Commentary, gen. ed.
David S. Dockery (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, Publishers, 1992).
Eckhard J. Schnabel, Acts, Vol. 5 in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New
Testament, gen. ed. Clinton E. Arnold (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012).
William H. Willimon, Acts, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching,
series ed. James Luther Mays, New Testament ed. Paul J. Achtemeier (Louisville,
KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2010).
Selected resources on the life and works of Paul:
F. F. Bruce, Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free
(Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1977).
W. J. Conybeare and J. S. Howson, The Life, Times and
Travels of St. Paul, 2 vols. in 1, unabridged American ed. (New York: E. B.
Treat U Co., 1869); on Google Books
at http://books.google.com/books?id=Bn1CAAAAIAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
F. W. Farrar, The Life and Work of St. Paul (New
York: E. P. Dutton and Co., 1889); on Google
Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=RB2KeCSM6KsC&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Bruce N. Fisk, “Paul:
Life and Letters”, in The Face of New Testament Studies: A Survey of Recent
Research, ed. Scot McKnight and Grant R. Osborne (Grand Rapids: Baker
Academic, 2004), pp. 283-325.
Richard B.Gaffin, Jr.,
"Acts and Paul", 46 lectures (MP3 format), WTS Resources Media Center
on Westminster Theological Seminary
at http://wts.edu/resources/media.html?paramType=audio&filterTopic=5&filterSpeaker=10&filterYear=2005 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].
Frank J. Goodwin, A Harmony of the Life of the St.
Paul According to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles (New
York: American Tract Society, 1895); on Google
Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=YgpEAAAAYAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 12 FEB 2013].
Richard N. Longenecker, The Ministry And Message Of
Paul (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1971).
Richard N. Longenecker, Paul, Apostle Of Liberty
(New York: Harper & Row, 1964).
Richard N. Longenecker, ed., The Road From Damascus :
The Impact Of Paul's Conversion On His Life, Thought, And Ministry (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997).
J. Gresham Machen, The Origin of Paul's Religion: The
James Sprunt Lectures Delivered at Union Theological Seminary in Virginia
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1925).
*John Pollock, The Apostle: A Life of Paul, 3rd
ed. (Colorado Springs: David C. Cook, 1969, 2012); also published as The Man
Who Shook the World (Wheaton: Victor Books, 1972; originally The Apostle: A Life of Paul, New York:
Doubleday, 1969).
W. M. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveler and the Roman
Citizen, 10th ed. (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1907); on Christian Classics Ethereal Library
(CCEL) at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ramsay/paul_roman.html
[accessed 13 FEB 2013].
A. T. Robertson, Epochs in the Life of Paul: A Study
of Development in Paul's Character (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1974).
Udo Schnelle, Apostle Paul: His Life and Theology,
trans. M. Eugene Boring (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2003; trans. from Paulus: Leben und Denken, Berlin: Walter
de Gruyter GmbH & Co., n.d.).
Thomas R. Schreiner, Paul, Apostle of God's Glory in
Christ: A Pauline Theology (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2001).
*James Stalker, The Life of St. Paul, (Edinburgh:
T. & T. Clark, 1885; rev. ed. 2010 by Kessinger Publishing from 1912 ed.);
on Google Books at http://books.google.com/books?id=vT0HAAAAQAAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false
[accessed 7 FEB 2013].
*Note: the two titles asterisked are recommended for
entry level students of the life of Paul.
[1] I have prepared a file on
the textual issues involved in Acts 9:4-6.
This is available upon request by email to waysidegospelchapel at yahoo
dot com.
[2] Michael Haykin, "Overview of the Book of Acts" (11 SEP
2005), on SermonAudio at http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=9190520921 [accessed 20 MAR 2013].
[3] See note 1 on the textual
issues in Acts 9:4-6.
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