◄ What Does Acts 26:17 Mean? ►

Saul of Tarsus thought he was an outstanding example of a man of God. He had confidence in his own abilities and was proud of his heritage. Before being saved by grace through faith in Christ, Paul was a devout Pharisee, who boasted of his moral standard and religiosity. He even considered he was superior to all others in piety and godly qualities.  

This man was a Jew, who diligently followed all the Jewish customs and their many traditions. He was an Israelite, who was circumcised on the eighth day, as required by the Mosaic Law. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews who came from the tribe of Benjamin. Saul of Tarsus was a proud man, who knew that his parentage and pedigree were held in high esteem by others.

Before salvation he could boast, "as to the Law...a Pharisee. As to zeal... a persecutor of the church. As to the righteousness, which is in the Law... blameless." High credentials indeed for this persecutor of believers. But all that changed when Saul of Tarsus met Jesus of Nazareth on the road to Damascus, and became Paul - God's apostle to the Gentiles.

In Acts 26 we find Paul, standing in a law-court, defending his Christian faith. He had been aggressively attacked by certain Jews who wanted to kill him, and in his defence, Paul retold the amazing events on his journey from Jerusalem to Damascus. He told how he carried a warrant to arrest Christian men, women, and children, but was stopped in his tracks by a supernatural meeting with the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ, Who had chosen him from his mother's womb to be His apostle.

Having related the blinding light that threw him and his companions to the ground, Paul recounted the first words he heard from his Saviour's lips, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads." Paul considered he was doing God's will, but this heavenly Visitor, Who asked why Saul was persecuting Him, caused him great consternation and he replied with a question, "Who are You, Lord?"

Paul knew all the claims of Christianity and had considered it to be ungodly propaganda. He understood that Jesus had been crucified and buried. The Christians' declaration that "Christ is risen", angered him. He believed the disciples had stolen the body and invented the story of resurrection. However, he was challenged to the depths of his being, when he heard the answer to his question, "I am Jesus, Whom you are persecuting."

Paul explained to the court that his mission had been to exterminate Christ's followers, Whose teachings conflicted with his own narrow, religious perspective. But he realised that contrary to doing God's will, he was actively opposing the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! By persecuting Christians, he was in direct conflict with God's will and was persecuting Christ - the Son of God and the Head of the Church.

And now, Paul stood before the court of King Agrippa, bound in chains, relating his supernatural experience, in a court of law, to Gentile dignitaries. Paul then boldly told them God's next instruction to him on the Damascus road, "I will continue to rescue you from your people, the Jews, and from the Gentiles, to whom I'm sending you." Paul was standing in Gentile custody and being interrogated by some of the people from who God promised to deliver him.

As Paul, confidently voiced those words before King Agrippa and his Gentile courtiers, I wonder what went through Paul's mind. God had promised to deliver him from the very situation in which he found himself! I wonder if a ripple of anticipated excitement passed through his mind. God had delivered him before from the Jews and Gentiles. 

Paul had received 39 lashes from the Jews. He had been beaten with rods by the Romans, stoned by his enemies, and faced many other dangers from which God had rescued him. He had been in danger from robbers, in danger from his own people, in danger from the Gentiles, in danger in the city, in danger in the open country, in danger on the sea and in danger among false brothers.

Paul had faced many other hardships, sleepless nights, hunger and thirst... but God's grace was always sufficient, and He used every circumstance in Paul's life for his eternal good, and for God's own glory. When we find ourselves in difficulties and dangers, let us call to mind the precious promises that are ours in Christ, knowing that nothing can happen to us that God will not permit for our greater good and that His grace is always sufficient to rescue us from every situation in which He has placed us - for our eternal benefit and for His greater glory.

Heavenly Father, thank You that You sent Jesus to be our kinsman Redeemer, and that by faith I am part of His body. Help me to live according to Your will and not to find myself in opposition to Your plans and purposes, by following my own logic or desires. Help me to become a wise student of Scripture and carry out Your purposes for my life, so I may be a testimony to the truth. And I pray that I may learn to reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed. This I ask in Jesus' name, AMEN.