Two weeks ago, we discussed Cornelius, this Gentile, this non-Jewish man being converted. We talked about how this is the longest narrative in the book of Acts and this is a very pivotal point in the book.

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

You need to know that this is happening now. They are at the end of the earth, which means that the Gospel is now in the gentile areas. The Gospel is now in pagan areas. The church is becoming multicultural.

So, have you ever had an exciting time or moment and then someone crashes you down?

When I was in seventh grade, I had ordered a Cleveland Browns book bag (why would anyone want that? I don’t know), but for some reason, when it came in, my mom gave it to my older brother. She must have thought he needed it more than me or something. I don’t know. But he was so excited when I got home from school and said, “Steve, look at this new book bag I got.” I’m like, “That’s mine.” Anyways, I still think back. He was so excited about that book bag, and maybe he did not know that I had picked it out.

That is a simple example, but the sermons the last few weeks and today deal with cultural issues. What is it like to rain on someone’s parade? What is that like?

In the passage, we are about to look at Peter’s parade was rained on. Peter had this mountain-top experience, and then he gets to Jerusalem, and then these high and mighty Jewish law keepers rebuke him. But think about it for a minute. Who can rebuke Peter? Peter went water skiing with Jesus without a boat.[1] Peter was trained in the University of Jesus. Apparently, these people did not care.

Three Applications to take home:

1. We see the cultural divide come down.

Psalm 139:23 (ESV)

²³   Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

Galatians 3:28 (ESV)

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This makes Revelation 7:9 so much more powerful:

Revelation 7:9 (ESV)

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…

2. The second application is the indwelling Holy Spirit in all believers. We see this emphasis in verses 15-17.
3. The third application is to bring glory to God. We see this in verse 18.

Let’s read the passage.

Acts 11:1–18 (ESV)

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, ³ “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began and explained it to them in order: ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. ⁶ Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. ⁷ And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. ¹¹ And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² And the Spirit told me to go with them, making no distinction. These six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; ¹⁴ he will declare to you a message by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵ As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them just as on us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard these things they fell silent. And they glorified God, saying, “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

1. In verses 1-3, Peter is now challenged.
   1. In verses 1-3, we see that Peter goes back to Jerusalem. Now, it says the party of the circumcision. This means that they kept the whole law. They might have been the Pharisees like Paul the Apostle.
   2. So, they challenged Peter on this. Peter was all excited. He had had this dramatic revelation from God. God had shown Him this new truth. He was allowed to eat bacon now, but now he had to deal with these people. He had to defend this case.
   3. Verse 3: the real deal is that he ate with them. This is not the last time this will come up.
   4. So, in verse 4, Peter gives an orderly account of what happened. This is a review. There are a few new things, mainly concerning the Holy Spirit.
2. In verse 16, Peter reveals how Jesus spoke about the Holy Spirit.
   1. John baptized with water, but He will baptize with the Holy Spirit.
   2. Notice that we are baptized with the Holy Spirit simultaneously with salvation. Verse 17: If then God gave the same gift to them as he gave to us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?”

• In verse 18, we see, following this, the people have nothing to argue with; they stop arguing with him and glorify or praise God.
  1. The original languages use the word “glorify God.”
  2. This is where we get our word “doxology” from.
  3. They worshipped God.
  4. This is self-sacrificing, vertical worship.
  5. We must also worship God this way.
  6. The last verse: , “Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life.”

Review our applications with me:

Three Applications to take home:

1. We see the cultural divide come down.

Psalm 139:23 (ESV)

²³   Search me, O God, and know my heart!

Try me and know my thoughts!

Galatians 3:28 (ESV)

²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

This makes Revelation 7:9 so much more powerful:

Revelation 7:9 (ESV)

⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands…

2. The second application is the indwelling Holy Spirit in all believers. We see this emphasis in verses 15-17.
3. The third application is to bring glory to God. We see this in verse 18.

The question is, how do you feel about it?

Do you know Jesus?

Are you open to other cultures and people knowing Jesus?

Who do you need to introduce Jesus to?

To whom do you need to be opened to introduce Jesus?

Where are your prejudices?

Where are mine?

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] I cannot take credit for this illustration, it comes from Pastor Mark Driscoll. Also the next one.

Conversion of Cornelius (Acts 10:1–48): The Gospel to the Nations

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, September 15, 2024

Do you ever think about our search for God?

Tim Keller shares:

C.S. Lewis says in his spiritual autobiography. He puts it like this: “Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about ‘man’s search for God.’ To me … they might as well have talked about the mouse’s search for the cat.”

His implication is the mouse doesn’t search for the cat; the cat searches for the mouse. He looks back and says, “Was I on a search for God?” We don’t search for God unless God first comes and does something in our hearts and pulls us toward him. There’s a hymn from the Reformation era that says it perfectly. This is the language of the heart of anybody who has really been converted. One of the stanzas of the hymn goes like this:

‘Tis not that I did choose Thee

For Lord, that could not be

This heart would still refuse Thee

Hadst Thou not chosen me

My heart owns none before Thee

For Thy rich grace I thirst

This knowing, if I love Thee

Thou must have loved me first

Anyone who has ever experienced real conversion in one way or another knows that’s true. What does that mean? It’s good news. By the way, it’s very good news. Here’s what the good news is. It means if you’re really on a search, if you’re really trying to find God and trying to know God, if you really want him, don’t search with anxiety. Search with confidence. Why?

Because if somebody comes to me and says, “I’m afraid I’m not going to find him. I’m trying to find him. I’m not sure I’m going to find him.” The only reason you’re discouraged is because you’re giving yourself too much credit. You’re not capable of missing God. You’re not capable of aching for God. You’re not capable of longing for God unless he was already helping you.

Put it another way. A sense of his absence is the sign of his presence, because you’re not capable of feeling his absence. You’re not capable of missing him. A sense of his absence is a sign of his presence.^[1]

That is for sure something to think about. God is seeking us!

Today, we come to Acts 10 and we see a case in which God is drawing a non-Jewish man. God is seeking this non-Jewish man.

This is the longest narrative in the book of Acts. This passage is pivotal in this book. Not just one but several Greeks receive Christ as their Savior. This passage now shows that you do not have to be Jewish to be a Christian. This passage now shows that the Gospel crosses cultural barriers. This is amazing.

I am going to summarize parts of this chapter and talk about them.

1. We have the introduction to Cornelius in verses 1-8.
   1. He was a centurion.
   2. We find out in verse 1 that Cornelius was part of the Italian Cohort.
   3. Caesarea was the seat of the Roman government of Judea. Cornelius was a centurion, a commander of 100 men, and a member of the Italian Cohort. (A “cohort” consisted of 600 men under the command of six centurions, but with auxiliary forces in remote areas such as Judea a “cohort” might have as many as 1,000 men.) Ten cohorts formed a “legion.” Centurions were paid very well (as much as five times the pay of an ordinary soldier), so Cornelius would have been socially prominent and wealthy.
   4. Verse 2 tells us that he was devout:
   5. He prayed.
   6. He feared God.
   7. He gave.
   8. He was a God-fearer, which means that he was considering Judaism. He may have been a full Jewish convert, but maybe not. We are unsure of this. He was definitely a non-Jewish man and did not keep the dietary laws.
   9. In the following few verses, he sees a vision. The Bible says that this is clear. This is unmistakable. So, this is an angel, and the angel says that his prayers have been answered. He is to send servants to Joppa where Peter is.
   10. Now, that sends us to verse 9 and to Peter.
2. In verses 9-23, we see Peter’s vision.
   1. Peter receives a vision that is repeated three times.
   2. In verses 9-12, He sees a great canvas sheet descending from heaven, filled with all kinds of unclean animals.
   3. In verses 13-16 we see the command:
   4. God’s order (10:13): “Kill and eat them.”
   5. Peter’s objection (10:14): “Never, Lord, I have never in all my life eaten anything forbidden by our Jewish laws.”
   6. We see God’s overrule (10:15–16): “If God says something is acceptable, don’t say it isn’t.”
   7. We see Peter’s confusion in verse 17. Peter wonders what all this means.
   8. Just then (verses 17-23) the men from Cornelius arrive and request that Peter accompany them to Caesarea.^[2]
   9. So, two soldiers are on their way to Peter. Peter, being a devout Jew, is about to have his world rocked.
   10. Noon was the normal time to eat and it was normal to use the roof for rest as well as for drying vegetables and other things.
   11. Noon was not a regular hour of prayer (3:1), so Peter prays in addition to the traditional hours followed by many of his contemporaries.^[3]
   12. I wonder, just a note of application, what is your prayer life? What is my prayer life?
   13. It is important, it is critical, it is imperative, that I am about prayer, that we are about prayer. We won’t do anything without God’s help. Wait, I feel like that was said and written wrong. We need God leading us. We need communion with God. We need prayer. We need dependence on God. Are you seeking Him? I must ask myself the same thing. Am I seeking Him?
   14. So, Mr. Peter is praying and God gives him this vision and we are not going to break down this vision. Peter sees unclean animals.
   15. By the way, the animals are given in a similar manner as they would be in the account of the flood narrative, which is interesting.
   16. Verse 13: take, kill and eat…
   17. God is for P.E.T.A. People Eating Tasty Animals.
   18. Verse 14 and following Peter says, no way, my translation, I have never eaten anything unclean.
   19. You must know that the Jews had dietary laws. They were not supposed to eat certain foods. In the Old Testament, God separated them from the other nations.
3. Verses 24-48 are about Cornelius’s salvation.
   1. In Verses 24-33 Cornelius shares how this came to pass and invites Peter to preach.
   2. Cornelius saw an angel four days ago (verse 30).
   3. The angel was in shining armor, verse 30. His giving has been remembered, verse 31, which connects with verse 2. Verse 33, he did not want to hear just anything but what Peter has been commanded to share by the Lord.
   4. In verses 34-43, Peter preaches the Gospel.
   5. Peter preaches a Gospel version shorter than some of his other sermons.
   6. Yet, this sermon focuses more on the life and ministry of Jesus.
   7. This is similar to Mark’s Gospel, which makes sense as Mark’s Gospel is said to have been written based on Peter’s testimony.
   8. Peter knew when to stop.
   9. Verse 45: all the circumcised believers (all the Jews) were amazed. A testimony that God had opened the Gospel up (Gal. 3:28).
   10. The Spirit convicted them and they were baptized.

Applications

1. 1. I have summarized this passage.
   2. This is a long passage, and I usually prefer to preach verse-by-verse, but I summarized this passage differently.
   3. Now, I want to go into applications:
   4. God is going to great lengths to show that the gospel is for everyone. Do we see this?
   5. He challenges Peter in the dietary laws.
   6. He is prodding Peter.
   7. A few chapters before this, God sends Philip to the Ethiopian Eunich.
   8. God is showing that the Gospel is for everyone.
   9. Christianity transcends cultures.
   10. Acts 1:8 (ESV)
   11. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
   12. Jerusalem
   13. Judea
   14. Samaria
   15. Ends of the earth…
   16. Galatians 3:28 (ESV) ²⁸ There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
   17. Christianity transcends cultures.
   18. Revelation 7:9–10 (ESV)
   19. ⁹ After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, ¹⁰ and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

Timothy Keller shares:

Flannery O’Connor, the great Catholic Christian writer of fiction, in one of her letters said, “Christianity is worthless if it’s not true.”

I read in the New York Times Metro section yesterday [This is Keller sharing this] a very interesting article about why missionaries now take their children into dangerous places when so much of the world is so dangerous. The reporter said, “Why do they still go?” The reporter at one point said, “Maybe it’s because some families are just really looking for adventure.”

Here’s the question I have for the reporter, and maybe you’re here. It’s New York. Did Jesus rise from the dead? If Jesus rose from the dead, not only do you need to go, but it will be okay no matter what happens, but if Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, it would be the stupidest thing in the world to put your family in harm’s way just to get adventure.

In other words, Christianity is worthless if it’s not true, but Peter says it is. He says, “We saw him. We ate and drank with him.” In other words, don’t ask whether Christianity is relevant, even though it is. Don’t ask whether Christianity is an adventure, even though it certainly is. Don’t ask if Christianity is exciting and life-changing, even though it certainly is. Ask if it’s true. If it’s true, it will convert you.^[4]

If it is true, we are converted and we share this with all people.

Pray

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

^[2] H. L. Willmington, The Outline Bible (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1999), Ac 10:9–23.

^[3] Keener, C. S. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary: New Testament (Ac 10:9). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

^[4] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

Healing of Aeneas and Dorcas (Acts 9:32–43)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, September 8, 2024

I have never been one to say that God does not heal people today. I have never wanted to limit God and believe that God has stopped certain miracles. A few years ago, I met with a pastor I knew, and he shared many experiences he had personally experienced of healing. He shared:

His wife was raised in India with sicknesses and little medical care.

Her father would pray in faith, and they would be healed. The Lord intervened when no one else could.

His wife would challenge him when their children were sick to pray for them. He would pray for the specific disease to be healed.

One time, his 4th born son was 2.5 years old. They were having a birthday party for his older son. All these boys were at the house, and the water went out. He saw a water truck up the street and thought he would ask them what was happening. He went to his garage and looked behind his van to ensure no toys were behind it. He got in and started to back up and then heard a noise. He backed up and pinned his 2.5-year-old. His son was hardly breathing. EMTs arrived, and they were shocked. They couldn’t get a pulse. The ER doctor said he was in a life-threatening condition- broken fibula, tibia, hip… collapsed lung, chest was likely collapsed. They called the care flight and took him to University Rainbow Hospital, the children’s hospital in the midst of it. As they were driving, they were sending calls for healing. They were crying out for God to heal his son. There were probably 800 women in a meeting in St. Lewis, and they all stopped the meeting and prayed.

They got to the hospital, and they saw an African American man holding his son. At first, he thought, “That can’t be my son.” Then the man sat him down, and he ran to his dad. The man said, “The Lord healed your son.” The doctor said they had X-rays, but they didn’t match him. They kept him overnight and then sent him home. Scratches and outside injuries were still there, but the bone breaks were gone. He is now 20 years old and perfectly fine. The hip bone was broken, and the leg was sideways, but that was fine when they got to the hospital.

That was the most personal and miraculous testimony I have heard of healing. (Meeting with Pastor Myron Daum, Pastor or North Mar C&MA Church. Meeting date- February 2, 2017)

We are going to continue teaching and preaching through the book of Acts. Today, I want to look at Acts 9:32-43. We are going to look at a passage in which Peter heals two people. This is the power of God at work. This is the power of the Holy Spirit at work. As we look at this passage, notice Peter was willing to be involved, Peter exalted Christ, and Peter let the Gospel produce fruit. Let’s read the passage:

Acts 9:32–43 (ESV)

³² Now as Peter went here and there among them all, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. ³³ There he found a man named Aeneas, bedridden for eight years, who was paralyzed. ³⁴ And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; rise and make your bed.” And immediately he rose. ³⁵ And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

³⁶ Now there was in Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which, translated, means Dorcas. She was full of good works and acts of charity. ³⁷ In those days she became ill and died, and when they had washed her, they laid her in an upper room. ³⁸ Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.” ³⁹ So Peter rose and went with them. And when he arrived, they took him to the upper room. All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them. ⁴⁰ But Peter put them all outside, and knelt down and prayed; and turning to the body he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. ⁴¹ And he gave her his hand and raised her up. Then, calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. ⁴² And it became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. ⁴³ And he stayed in Joppa for many days with one Simon, a tanner.

1. The first exhortation is to be willing to get involved.
   1. Notice that Peter was willing to get involved. Verse 32 says that he was traveling through the regions. He was busy, yet something was about to happen, and he was not too busy to be used by God.
   2. In verse 33, he finds this man named Aeneas. This man has been bedridden for 8 years. The text could actually say, “Since he was 8 years old,” either way, Jesus, through Peter, heals him. We’ll come back to that in a minute.
   3. Again, then in verse 36, this woman named Tabitha is dying and dead. Peter is busy. Peter is traveling. If there is anyone busy it has got to be Peter, right? Yet, he jumped at the chance to go and raise her back to life in verses 38-39.
   4. How do you and I do with interruptions? How are we with interruptions?
   5. I must look at the Bible, I must look at this passage like a mirror. I tend to plan out my day, and I am on my way somewhere, and then a family member calls, right? Maybe that interruption is ministry. Is it possible?
   6. I know of opportunities when I stop to help someone or even go out of my way to help someone, and I am glad I did. So, the exhortation here is to be willing to get involved. Peter was.
2. The second exhortation is to be Christ-exalting.
   1. Peter was about exalting Christ in this passage and in his life.
   2. A thought that I have is as follows: I cannot impress people with myself and I must stop trying to do so. I must only impress people with Jesus Christ.
   3. In the next chapter, Acts 10:25, Cornelius will try to worship Peter, and Peter will stand him up and only exalt Christ.
   4. Notice in verse 34 that Peter said, “Jesus Christ heals you…” We do not want to draw people to ourselves because we cannot do anything for them. We need to draw people to Jesus.

Swindoll shares:

My mother loved the woman who lived across the street from our home who had married late in life. She really had found her security in her husband. He was a wonderful man, and one day, he had a sudden heart attack and died within seconds. After his funeral, she began to visit the gravesite. My mother became very concerned over her friend Thelma.

She said to me one hot summer afternoon, “Charles, I want you to pray. I’m gonna take these cookies and this lemonade across the street and I’m gonna try to encourage Thelma. Just pray that her heart will be open to what I have to say. I’m gonna talk to her about Jesus.”

And so I did. My mother, wonderfully, very graciously, led her to Christ. She said to Thelma, “You know, Thelma, there’s something I need to mention to you. You really don’t need to keep going back to the cemetery.” “Oh,” she said, “Lovell, I just have to do that.” So my mother said, “Well, let me suggest you do it for another reason.” She said, “Why don’t you go back, not to try to make a ‘connection’ with your husband, but to minister to other people who are trying to do that.”

Thelma took my mother’s advice. As a matter of fact, she’s the only cemetery evangelist I ever knew. There at the memorial park in Houston she has led a number of people to Jesus Christ.[1]

[1] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 184–185.

• The third exhortation is to be Fruitful.

1. 1. Watch Jesus bear fruit as He did in this passage.
   2. In each of these miracles, it is about the Gospel.
   3. In verse 35, it says all heard about the miracle and turned to the Lord, and then again in 42, the same thing: all heard and believed in the Lord.

Swindoll shares:

The Pastor, dressed in a comfortable pair of old blue jeans, boarded a plane to return home. He settled into the last unoccupied seat next to a well-dressed businessman with a Wall Street Journal tucked under his arm. The minister, a little embarrassed over his casual attire, decided he’d look straight ahead and, for sure, stay out of any in-depth conversation. But the plan didn’t work. The man greeted him, so, to be polite, the pastor asked about the man’s work. Here’s what happened:

“I’m in the figure salon business. We can change a woman’s self-concept by changing her body. It’s really a very profound, powerful thing.”

His pride spoke between the lines.

“You look my age,” I said. “Have you been at this long?”

“I just graduated from the University of Michigan’s School of Business Administration. They’ve given me so much responsibility already, and I feel very honored. In fact, I hope to eventually manage the western part of the operation.”

“So you’re a national organization?” I asked, becoming impressed despite myself.

“Oh, yes. We are the fastest growing company of our kind in the nation. It’s really good to be a part of an organization like that, don’t you think?”

I nodded approvingly and thought, “Impressive. Proud of his work and accomplishments. Why can’t Christians be proud like that? Why are we so often apologetic about our faith and our church?”

Looking at my clothing, he asked the inevitable question, “And what do you do?”

“It’s interesting that we have similar business interests,” I said. “You are in the body-changing business; I’m in the personality-changing business. We apply ‘basic theocratic principles to accomplish indigenous personality modification.’ ”

He was hooked, but I knew he would never admit it. (Pride is powerful.)

“You know, I’ve heard about that,” he replied, hesitantly. “But do you have an office here in the city?”

“Oh, we have many offices. We have offices up and down the state. In fact, we’re national: we have at least one office in every state of the union, including Alaska and Hawaii.”

He had this puzzled look on his face. He was searching his mind to identify this huge company he must have read or heard about, perhaps in his Wall Street Journal.

“As a matter of fact, we’ve gone international. And Management has a plan to put at least one office in every country of the world by the end of this business era.”

I paused.

“Do you have that in your business?” I asked.

“Well, no. Not yet,” he answered. “But you mentioned management. How do they make it work?”

“It’s a family concern. There’s a Father and a Son, and they run everything.”

“It must take a lot of capital,” he asked, skeptically.

“You mean money?” I asked. “Yes, I suppose so. No one knows just how much it takes, but we never worry because there’s never a shortage. The Boss always seems to have enough. He’s a very creative guy. And the money is, well, just there. In fact those of us in the Organization have a saying about our Boss, ‘He owns the cattle on a thousand hills.’ ”

“Oh, he’s into ranching too?” asked my captive friend.

“No, it’s just a saying we use to indicate his wealth.”

My friend sat back in his seat, musing over our conversation. “What about with you?” he asked.

“The employees? They’re something to see,” I said. “They have a ‘Spirit’ that pervades the organization. It works like this: the Father and Son love each other so much that their love filters down through the organization so that we all find ourselves loving one another too. I know this sounds old-fashioned in a world like ours, but I know people in the organization who are willing to die for me. Do you have that in your business?” I was almost shouting now. People were starting to shift noticeably in their seats.

“Not yet,” he said. Quickly changing strategies, he asked, “But do you have good benefits?”

“They’re substantial,” I countered, with a gleam. “I have complete life insurance, fire insurance—all the basics. You might not believe this, but it’s true: I have holdings in a mansion that’s being built for me right now for my retirement. Do you have that in your business?”

“Not yet,” he answered, wistfully. The light was dawning.

“You know, one thing bothers me about all you’re saying. I’ve read the journals, and if your business is all you say it is, why haven’t I heard about it before now?”

“That’s a good question,” I said. “After all, we have a 2,000-year-old tradition.”

“Wait a minute!” he said.

“You’re right,” I interrupted. “I’m talking about the church.”

“I knew it. You know, I’m Jewish.”

“Want to sign up?” I asked.[1]

[1] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 616–618.

Let’s pray

[1] https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2515637/Does-prayer-help-resist-temptation-Talking-God-boosts-self-control-emotional-stability-claims-study.html

[2] https://www.all-creatures.org/stories/thetablecloth.html

[3] https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/reason/2016/12/24/fact-check-could-inspirational-story-be-true/15736747007/

[4] https://insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/the-hope-you-need1

[5] Ibid.

Saul’s Witness in Damascus and Jerusalem (Acts 9:19b–31)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, September 1, 2024

You may know the poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.   

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.   

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find, me unafraid.   

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

There is another one:

My Captain

Out of the light that dazzles me,

Bright as the sun from pole to pole,

I thank the God I know to be

For Christ the conqueror of my soul.

Since His the sway of circumstance,

I would not wince nor cry aloud.

Under that rule which men call chance

My head with joy is humbly bowed.

Beyond this place of sin and tears

That life with Him! And His the aid,

Despite the menace of the years,

Keeps, and shall keep me, unafraid.

I have no fear, though strait the gate,

He cleared from punishment the scroll.

Christ is the Master of my fate,

Christ is the Captain of my soul.

—Dorothea Day, quoted in Hazel Felleman, The Best Loved Poems of the American People^[1]

The first poem describes Saul/Paul before he was saved. The latter describes him in today’s passage.

We are going to look at Acts 9:19-31, and we will see Saul’s transformation.

My theme today is:

Saul’s Witness in Damascus and Jerusalem (Acts 9:19b–31)

My applications: Be an encourager like Barnabas; trust Christ like Saul; proclaim Jesus like Saul.

1. Saul proclaims Jesus as the Christ (Acts 9:19b-22).
   1. How did we get to this passage?
   2. In Acts 9:1-9, the Lord Jesus encounters Saul on the road to Damascus, and he is saved.
   3. In Acts 9:10-16, the Lord Jesus called to Ananias in a vision. The Lord told him about Saul and told him to lay hands on Saul to restore his sight.
   4. In Acts 9:17-19a, Ananias lays hands on Saul. Saul’s sight is restored, and he is baptized.
   5. So, now, we have the recent conversion of one of the greatest minds, yet greatest persecutors of the early church.
   6. Now, what happens after Saul is converted?
   7. We are about to find out.
   8. Acts 9:19–22 (ESV) ¹⁹ and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus. ²⁰ And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, “He is the Son of God.” ²¹ And all who heard him were amazed and said, “Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?” ²² But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ.
   9. First, we see at the end of verse 19 that Saul took some food and was strengthened. Saul did not eat or drink for the three days following his encounter with Jesus.
   10. Then, for some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
   11. One source adds: Saul likely received instruction in the Christian “way” from the disciples at Damascus. In Galatians, Paul notes that during this time he “went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus” (Gal. 1:17). (“Arabia” here means the Nabatean Kingdom, northeast of the Dead Sea, not the Arabian Peninsula.)^[2]
   12. He is in Damascus which is northeast of Jerusalem.
   13. Damascus was 135 miles (217 km) northeast of Jerusalem, a six-day journey by foot. Settled as early as the second millennium c., Damascus was an oasis on the border of the Arabian desert and on the main route from Mesopotamia to Egypt. The Nabatean king Aretas IV maintained an ethnarch (i.e., governor) in Damascus (2 Cor. 11:32). Although the modern city of Damascus stands atop the ancient remains, one can still see the “street called Straight” (Acts 9:11) running east to west with its East Gate and monumental arch. Also visible are the ancient theater and the concentric courts of its temple to Jupiter (now replaced by a mosque). Jewish presence in Damascus (assumed by the mention of synagogues in vv. 2, 20) is confirmed in Josephus’s record that many thousands of Jewish people were killed in Damascus during the time of the First Jewish Revolt (a.d. 66–73).^[3]
   14. Verse 20 shares that he immediately went to the synagogue and proclaimed Jesus as the Son of God.
   15. So, Saul was persecuting the church; he was hunting down Christians (Acts 8:3), and now he is preaching Christ.
   16. He was saying that this man, Jesus, is the Son of God.
   17. One source adds: Saul stayed in Damascus for some time, likely becoming oriented to basic Christianity even as he began proclaiming Jesus in the synagogues.
   18. He gave priority to the synagogues throughout his ministry, starting there before being forced to take the message elsewhere.^[4]
   19. This is a reminder that no one is too far for God to save them. No one is beyond God’s grace. God can save everyone.
   20. Perhaps we have a family member whom we have been praying for. Don’t give up! Keep praying.
   21. Saul was persecuting the church.
   22. God got ahold of Saul. He was saved, and he began to preach the gospel.
   23. God saved him, and God changed him.
   24. I like what Dr. Witherington III writes: As B. R. Gaventa points out, Saul is portrayed as an overthrown enemy in the conversion accounts, a portrayal in part based on the fact that even some of his newfound Christian friends appear to have had certain suspicions about Saul, perhaps due to the suddenness of his volte-face (cf. Galatians 1–2).^64[5]
   25. In verse 21, we see the people amazed. They ask if this is the same one causing problems. They wonder if he is there to bring them bound to the chief priests.
   26. Then, verse 22: now, Saul is increasing in strength… I think this is the strength of the message, or spiritual strength. Now, he is confounding the Jews as he proves that Jesus is the Christ. This means, the Messiah, the Savior.
   27. Apparently, he was able to explain the messianic connections between the OT and Jesus so clearly that the Jews in Damascus could not refute him.^[6]
   28. Saul’s position presupposes that he is already expert in the Scriptures; now he turns this expertise against his former mission.^[7]
2. Saul flees Damascus (Acts 9:23-25)
   1. Now, look at verses 23-25.
   2. Acts 9:23–25 (ESV)
   3. ²³ When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him, ²⁴ but their plot became known to Saul. They were watching the gates day and night in order to kill him, ²⁵ but his disciples took him by night and let him down through an opening in the wall, lowering him in a basket.
   4. Many days have now passed. This seems like it is a period of Paul’s spiritual growth and preaching. He is declaring that Jesus is the Son of God, the Christ.
   5. One source shares- Three years (Gal 1:17–18). It is probable that the major part of this period was spent in Arabia, away from Damascus, though the borders of Arabia extended to the environs of Damascus.^[8]
   6. There is a plot to kill him.
   7. Notice the role reversal— the persecutor becomes the persecuted.
   8. Now, it says that “his disciples…” This must mean that Saul now has people he has discipled. He is teaching and training them.
3. The acceptance of Saul by the disciples in Jerusalem (Acts 9:26-31)
   1. Acts 9:26–31 (ESV)
   2. ²⁶ 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. ²⁷ 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. ²⁸ So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. ³⁰ And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. ³¹ So the church throughout all Judea and Galilee and Samaria had peace and was being built up. And walking in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it multiplied.
   3. I like what Swindoll writes:
   4. Jerusalem! Saul owned Jerusalem. He went to graduate school in that great town. I mean, the man knew that old city like the back of his hand—every alleyway, every narrow passage, every escape route. He knew virtually everyone of any significance. What a venue to restart his public ministry. “Get the microphones. Turn the lights up bright. Pharisee-turned-evangelist now appearing at the central Jerusalem Auditorium. Come and hear! Come listen to this man preach!” Forget it. It was nothing like that.
   5. Instead, we read this: “He was trying to associate with the disciples; and they were all afraid of him, not believing that he was a disciple” (v. 26). Rejected again, only this time by those he most wanted to meet. Fear stood between them and the zealous, gifted preacher.
   6. That’s understandable; who wouldn’t be afraid of him? He killed their fellow Christians, some of whom may have been relatives. They thought Saul was a spy—part of an elaborate hoax designed to trap them and drag them to trial. “Saul? No way. Don’t let him in our ranks!”
   7. Ever felt the sting of that kind of rejection? Have you ever had such a bad track record that people didn’t want to associate with you or welcome you into their fellowship? (Or welcome you back?) It happens all the time. People are rejected because of their pasts. The load of baggage they drag behind them as they enter the Christian life keeps them from enjoying what should be instant acceptance. The rejection at times is unbearable. You may say, “Yes. I’ve been there. And I’m trying to forget those memories, thank you very much.” No, don’t forget those times. Those painful memories are part of God’s gracious plan to break your strong spirit of independence. They’ve become an essential segment of your story—your testimony of God’s grace.
   8. Thankfully, in the midst of those times, God faithfully provides lesser-known individuals who come alongside and say, “Hey, I’m on your team. Let me walk through this with you.” That’s exactly what happened to Saul in Jerusalem. Someone stepped up, voluntarily. He didn’t have to; he wanted to. His name . . . Barnabas, the encourager.^[9]
   9. Barnabas, the encourager, reassures some fearful of Saul (Acts 9:26-27).
   10. I love that!
   11. It is understandable that the disciples were afraid of Saul.
4. NIV SB: From Gal 1:19 we learn that the only apostles Paul met were Peter and James, the Lord’s brother. James was not one of the Twelve, but he held a position in Jerusalem comparable to that of an apostle (Gal 2:9).^[10]
   1. Barnabas made the difference.
   2. Verse 27 shows that Barnabas took him in. Barnabas reassured the apostles about how Saul was saved. Barnabas shared about how Paul preached in Damascus.
   3. According to Gal. 1:18–19, this visit took place three years after his conversion (which could make this c. d. 37), and Paul met with Peter for 15 days but had no substantial interaction with the other apostles, except for meeting James, the brother of Jesus.^[11]
   4. Look at verse 28. Paul now went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.
   5. Paul is now preaching in Jerusalem. Paul is now accepted by the apostles. God used Barnabas to bring this about.
   6. I like something else Swindoll writes:
   7. You may be a Barnabas today. Do you know someone who has been kicked in the teeth because he has a bad track record? Someone who can’t get a hearing, yet she’s turned her life around and nobody wants to believe it? I urge you to step up like Barnabas did for Saul. Look for those individuals who need a second chance—a large dose of grace to help them start over in the Christian life. Everybody needs a Barnabas at one time or another.^[12]
   8. There is an attempt on Saul’s life, and he departs to his hometown of Tarsus (Acts 9:29-31).
   9. In verse 29, Paul is speaking and disputing among the Hellenists… these are Greek-speaking Jews. They wanted to kill him.
   10. Verse 30: the brothers learned this… So, he is accepted and the other Christians are his brothers. He escapes to Caesarea and is sent to Tarsus.
   11. Some of the events of 2 Cor. 11:23–27 perhaps occurred during this time, and probably also his intense vision of heaven (2 Cor. 12:2–4). Saul is not mentioned again in Acts until Barnabas goes to Tarsus to find him in Acts 11:25. Saul will begin to be called Paul in 13:9.^[14]
   12. Verse 31 is a nice summary. It is like the summary in Acts 6:7.
   13. There was peace in the church throughout Judea and Galilee. Those are bother broader areas.
   14. The church was growing spiritually. They were walking in the fear of the Lord.
   15. They had the comfort of the Holy Spirit.
   16. The church grew…
   17. Do we walk in the fear of the Lord?
   18. Do we have the comfort of the Holy Spirit?

Swindoll:

Rather than considering yourself (even secretly) indispensable, remind yourself often, It’s the Lord’s work to be done the Lord’s way. I first heard that principle from Francis Schaeffer while attending one of his lectures. There he stood in knickers and a turtleneck sweater, delivering this very message to a group of young, idealistic listeners—many of us struggling to find our way. I heard him say this again and again: “The Lord’s work must be done the Lord’s way. The Lord’s work must be done the Lord’s way. The Lord’s work must be done the Lord’s way.”

If you’re in a hurry, you can make it work your way. It may have all the marks of promotion, but it won’t be the Lord’s way. Stop and realize that. It may be time for you to be let down off your wall in a basket to learn that in your life.

John Pollock, in his splendid book The Apostle, states, “The irony was not lost on him that the mighty Paul, who had originally approached Damascus with all the panoply of the high priest’s representative, should make his last exit in a fish basket, helped by the very people he had come to hurt.”

That about says it all, doesn’t it?

Just to set the record straight, our lives are not caught “in the fell clutch of circumstance.” Our heads are not to be “bloodied, but unbowed.” You and I are neither the “masters of our fate” nor are we the “captains of our souls.” We are to be wholly, continually, and completely dependent on the mercy of God, if we want to do the Lord’s work the Lord’s way. Paul had to learn that. My question is: Are you learning that? If not, today would be a good day to start. Now is the time to humble yourself under His mighty hand. If you don’t, eventually He will do it for you. And it will hurt. In His time, in His way, He will conquer your stubborn independence.

God is never pleased with a spiritually independent spirit.^[15]

My applications: Be an encourager like Barnabas; trust Christ like Saul; proclaim Jesus like Saul.

^[1] Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 501–502.

^[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

^[3] Ibid, 2098.

^[4] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1734.

⁶⁴ See Gaventa, “The Overthrown Enemy.”

^[5] Ben Witherington III, The Acts of the Apostles: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1998), 320.

OT Old Testament

^[6] Stanley E. Porter, “Acts,” in CSB Study Bible: Notes, ed. Edwin A. Blum and Trevin Wax (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), 1734.

^[7] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 9:22.

^[8] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 1914.

^[9] Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 302.

^[10] Kenneth L. Barker, ed., NIV Study Bible, Fully Revised Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2020), 1914.

1. about, approximately

^[11] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

^[12] Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 303.

^[13] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

^[14] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2101.

^[15] Charles R. Swindoll, Great Days with the Great Lives: Daily Insight from Great Lives of the Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2007), 306.