Transformation leads to proclamation.

Transformation leads to proclamation: Jesus is the Son of God!

When we encounter Jesus Christ, we are not left the same. We are changed forever. This was the kind of transformation that went through Saul of Tarsus. In the first 20 verses of this chapter, we find things happening to him. Others are doing the work, while he is passive; Jesus met him; his friends led him; they brought him to Damascus; Ananias came to him, laid his hands on him, healed him, and baptized him. Now, we find Saul doing the work. His passivity turns to activity. He proclaimed, increased in strength, confounded, proved, attempted, went in and out, preached, spoke and disputed. He took no time to start obeying Jesus and carry his name. Saul went to Damascus a persecutor; he returned to Jerusalem a proclamator.

Let’s review the context, the history, and how this passage relates to other NT writings. According to Galatians 1, Paul spent about 3 years away from Jerusalem, 2 of which were in Arabia - northeast of the Dea Sea, where Jordan is today. He then returned to Damascus, having grown in strength and ability, and spent more time proclaiming the gospel there. This is when the plot to kill him took place, which according to 2 Corinthians 11:32 happened during the reign of the governor under King Aretas. King Aretas IV Philopatris was King of the Arab Nabateans between 9 BC and 40 AD. His daughter had married and later divorced Herod Antipas who went on to marry Herodias his stepbrother’s wife, which led to the beheading of John the Baptist. Petra is believed to be King Aretas’ mausoleum. During his reign, Damascus was well guarded, so Paul could not leave through the city gate. He may have been laying low, until there came a need to do an Aladdin-style escape. At last, after 3 years, Saul returned to Jerusalem where he met Peter, and James the brother of Jesus, before he had to flee the city again, this time to his birthplace – Tarsus. This is real history; our family history – our heritage.

The passage today covers a period of at least 3 years, with the same central theme: transformation leads to proclamation. Together we will look at immediacy, transformation, opposition, and mission.

IMMEDIACY

The passage starts, and you can sense the urgency. Saul wastes no time to obey, and immediately starts proclaiming the gospel: Jesus is the Son of God. Zeal for gospel ministry is a central sign of gospel transformation. The gospel is the good news of God for salvation, for freedom from sin, for rescue from idolatry and exile: God saves sinners through Christ Jesus. Such good news is better than any medicine. It’s not merely a treatment; it is a cure, a medium of healing, of restoration, of rescue, of light and life. Having been transformed by this glorious work of Jesus, Saul eagerly and urgently starts to proclaim salvation in no other name given under heaven among men, by which we must be saved (4:12).

This pattern may be foreign to some of us. Growing up in the church could make us tame regarding the depth and length and height and depth of the grace of God. It can make us timid regarding gospel proclamation. My exhortation to those of us who feel this way is to ponder this, and realize that the grace of our God is so great that it actually prevented many of us from having to have lived a life of violence and persecution like Saul did, who had to remember for the rest of his life the hurts and harms he caused others (22:19-20; Gal 1:13; 1 Tim 1:13). Sometimes we chase the stories: we feel that salvation of a thief, a murderer, a terrorist, or a you-name-the-sin, is of such great importance that we want to spread the story and put the storyteller on a pedestal. There is good in portraying that the grace of God can save anybody. It’s true. Yet there is a lot of good in trusting the grace of God to prevent many of us and our own children growing in this church from going on to be thieves or murderers or swindlers or you-name-the-sin, by calling them early on from death to life, from slavery to freedom. The grace of God is equidistant from all people just as life is equidistant from those who are dead. And I exhort you brother and sister: if you are one of those redeemed early in life, having grown in the church, in a household of faith, praise be to God: realize the immensity of God’s grace in your life, how much he has spared you, how much he has saved you from, rejoice, give glory to his name, and sense the immediacy to go and proclaim what the Lord has done and what he can do. You and I know the depth of human depravity, and that as we grow older we are able to sin in many more ways, whether in quantity or in egregiousness. This must drive us to live with thanksgiving that he has given us the ability not to sin, and the joy and privilege to proclaim this good news to others. Jesus Christ came to save sinners.

As for those who have been, in a sense like Saul here, transformed to faith later in life, I exhort you brother or sister to resist the feeling of shame or guilt for your checkered past. The Lord has taken that shame and guilt away on the cross, and granted you blamelessness, not because you deserve it, but because Jesus took the blame upon himself, and has mercifully lifted your sin away, and graciously given you life and freedom in Christ. So brother and sister: rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord! Give him glory, and walk in the light and freedom that he has given you! And like Saul here, with immediacy proclaim freedom to the captives and that no matter what your sin is, Christ is a great savior, stronger than any stronghold that took hold of you for years: he is able to save to the uttermost! And he has given you the joy, mandate, and privilege to proclaim his excellencies, being more than a conqueror: an ambassador of good news to call people to the same freedom, holiness, righteousness and joy that he has brought you into.

Believers in Jesus: do not let anyone despise your zeal for the gospel. I know many in the church who have faced people who told them: “Oh you’re so cute! Having zeal and all that. It will settle down with time.” Brother and sister in Christ: do not settle down! Do not let even believers deter you from immediacy to proclaim Jesus as the Son of God, to proclaim freedom to the captives, to proclaim life in Jesus and joy in knowing Christ. Resist that urge, and go on to tell the world with boldness what Christ has done!

TRANSFOMATION

One of the signs of gospel transformation is that everyone, believers and unbelievers, see a change in us. In Damascus, those who heard Saul were perplexed at this change in him. How could the persecutor of the name of Jesus and his followers be now proclaiming the same name and salvation through it? Even today, new believers may surprise those around them by the change happening to them. They don’t only proclaim the name of Jesus - which they should do - but they also show a change in thoughts, words, and actions. In fact, this change is a big tool in our strategy to proclaim Jesus: when people ask about the reason for the change in us, for the hope we have, we should be ready to give an answer (1 Peter 3:15).

For some of us who have been believers for a while, we may feel stagnation, settle into a routine, and live our lives or do our jobs without any perceptible change. But the essence of Christian life is Christian living and becoming more like Christ, which means ongoing transformation - otherwise known as sanctification. We will always be changing. If you doubt me, look at old pictures of you and see the difference. In Christ, we have the ability to steer this change: we can’t stop ourselves from getting white hair or losing hair altogether, but we can with the power of Christ and the help of the Holy Spirit be transformed more into Christlikeness, and grow more in kindness, hope, boldness, witness, the fruit of the Spirit, and much more. Sanctification is hard alone, but it was never meant to be alone. It’s meant to be done in community. We are saved by the gospel, into community, for mission. We were transformed by the gospel; we are being transformed into the likeness of Jesus; we will be transformed to full glory when he returns. And it takes effort, humility, and community to make us all more like Christ so that the world around us even today would be perplexed at how we are people of faith, people of hope, people of good news, people of peace and unity. No wonder those seeing Saul, both opponents to Christianity and Christians alike, were confounded, because the change in him was so drastic. Some will doubt; others will oppose; yet many may come to trust us, like they did Saul, and be willing to hear our message.

In fact, we have a lot to learn here from the example of Barnabas. You see, people tend to listen most to someone they trust. It was hard for the fearful to listen to Saul, let alone accept him as one of them. They were rightly concerned by his reputation, and to question the truth of his story. But it was also important for the believers not to continue to act with suspicion, something that could harbor distrust, divide the church, or hinder the gospel message. In bridging the gap between the messenger and the recipients of the message, Barnabas – the son of encouragement – played a dual role in encouraging the church to listen to Saul, and in encouraging Saul to continue his ministry. He didn’t take Saul aside and told him to simmer down. He reasoned with the people that the work of transformation God had done through Christ was true and complete. He did not stoke fears or weaponize them; he did not sow disunity; he was a man of peace and upright character who loved the Lord and served his church. This led to Saul’s preaching being encouraged, the church being exhorted to hear and follow suit, and the unbelievers not to be hindered from hearing the message that Jesus is the Son of God. Removing distrust and alleviating suspicion was very consequential for the church to have peace, for the believers to be encouraged, and for the gospel message to spread even in the midst of opposition.

OPPOSITION

This turns our attention to those who tried to kill Saul, whether in Damascus or Jerusalem, whether Jews or Hellenists. It’s a pattern that is all too common in history: when an idea is growing and spreading, there’s disbelief and opposition. Those who oppose truth may make their own truth claims, can feel their worldview threatened, could become agitated, or be roused to defend their belief. And if Christianity is not stopped, destroyed or retreating, such opponents may be ready to assassinate the character of the messenger, or even the life of the messenger. When they failed to undermine Christ’s character, they took his life. They killed Stephen too. Here the enemies of the gospel of Jesus are again going after his disciples, chief of whom is Saul whose boldness has been turned for the gospel. Saul is an answer to the disciples’ prayer in Chapter 4 who, when opposed and imprisoned, asked for boldness to proclaim the name – a boldness that Saul became a synonym of. One might see this situation ironic: the biggest persecutor turning into the biggest preacher. But we believers must see God’s hand in this: the grace of God, his answer to prayer, and even a sign and wonder from the hand of God that draws people to him, perplexes some, and rouses others to anger and hatred.

Ironically, these opponents may have learned some of Saul’s own tricks, and maybe that’s why he recognized the signs of impending assassination attempts, leading to his escape from an opening in the Damascus city wall; and then the escape by boat from Jerusalem to Tarsus. This last escape will become one of many sea voyages that Saul will make throughout his ministry, going to the Gentiles, boldly proclaiming Jesus, planting churches, standing before kings, and writing much of our New Testament.

Sometimes believers have to face the authorities and defend themselves like the apostles, Saul and others have done. At other times believers would do well to run or hide as many of our brothers and sisters around the world are doing today. Saul spoke boldly, trusted the Lord, and had a lot of courage; but this did not prevent him sometimes from running away. We today live in a place where we can leverage a lot for the kingdom and for the name of Christ, and I hope we are found to be good stewards of this. But many people around the world cannot appeal to the government or the authorities, for their very own lives are being hunted by their own leaders. In such a case, other believers, including us, have the privilege of praying for them, supporting them, rescuing them at times, and giving a voice to the persecuted. That’s what the believers did to Saul in Damascus, and will do again in Jerusalem.

The enemies of the gospel of Jesus Christ are willing to do a lot of things to oppose it. Their zeal can make them willing to wait day and night, even lose income or work. Their hatred can lead them to want to take a disciple’s life. Are we not to have the Christian equivalent of such a zeal, and be committed to proclaim that Jesus is the Christ – the savior of the world? Why should the enemies of the gospel outdo us in their zeal to oppose it? We should outdo them in our zeal to proclaim it!

Most people in the west, like in America, think it is ok to say you are a Christian, if you leave other people alone[i]. But if you tell other people that Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life - that is found as offensive. Now, if you have the medicine that can save one from death, would it not be offensive  - even dangerous - not to share it with them? That is what Saul is doing here: he has found the fountain of living water in a parched and weary land, and is going to tell others to come and drink, be refreshed, and find life. Jesus did not tell Saul to speak about him only to those he chooses, or to those he must, but to all. Which is the same thing Jesus tells all his followers. It is the same thing Jesus told us. Our need to tell our faith is akin to a fish’s need to be in water: as water is essential to a fish’s life, and air is essential to our breath, gospel proclamation is essential to our Christian life.

Regardless of who is on the other side (of the debate), it is always worth making the case for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the case that Jesus is the Son of God. Dialogue is important. Online comments don’t change people. Public temper tantrums help no one; they are performative, not productive. Even if our opponents want to turn violent like Saul’s case here, our role is not to turn violent ourselves, but to remain civil. The alternative to civility in our gospel proclamation is war. And in war, people lose. And if people lose, the message is no longer about the gospel that gives life. Let us make sure that our actions, our words, our movements, our zeal are accountable to the holiness of God, to one another in a credible gospel community, and seeking unity together for one gospel, one salvation, one hope, one Spirit, one Lord, one mission.

MISSION

V.31 tells us that the church in Judea, Galilee and Samaria is getting established and growing; and it had peace. We are seeing the ongoing fulfillment of the promise and mandate of chapter 1 – of Christian witness going to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. We’ve seen glimpses of what is remaining, the mission to the gentiles, such as at Pentecost, and through Philip’s ministry to the Ethiopian Eunuch. But Saul’s conversion becomes the main catalyst, as he practically spends the majority of the rest of his life outside of Jerusalem, in Gentile lands, on travel, on boats, in a Roman prison, becoming one of the heralds of the spread of the gospel of Christ and the proclamation of Jesus as the Son of God to the ends of the earth. One of the vital functions of a church is mission – disciple making, gospel proclamation, and church planting. If we cease to do this, we would be writing our own death sentence. Think about this: an apple tree lives and reproduces and survives best not when it bears apples, but when its seed leads to saplings and the eventual growth of other apple trees, making a beautiful orchard. It’s similar for us as a church: we should bear fruit by discipling people, by adding believers to our number, by growing in the fruit of the Spirit, and becoming more like Christ. But a great way to grow and love well is when we plant other churches that can grow and bear fruit, then go and do likewise. And our beautiful orchard becomes part of the holy catholic church. It might be tough for Crosstown alone to plant another fully grown church, though that is a good desire; but we can also pray, give, send, and partner with other churches to make sure that part of our legacy is helping the church throughout the world to have peace, to be built up, and to multiply. Focus only inwardly and we would be doomed. Make it our effort to grow more Christlike, call others to the same hope, and strive to multiply the body of Christ, and we can – in the fear of the Lord and the comfort of the Holy Spirit – secure a legacy of faith and fulfill our goal of making disciples of Jesus by exposing them to a credible gospel community.

GOSPEL: JESUS IS THE SON OF GOD

Paul’s goal was not to amaze people, to confuse the Jews, or to argue with the Greeks. Our God is not a god of confusion. But the statement that Paul made is offensive, confounding, and demands an answer. You see, we can tell people that they need Jesus because they’re sinners, and they can brush us off; we can ask “do you know where you will go if you die tonight?” and people of any religion will give an answer (heaven, hell, reincarnation, paradise etc…). But if our proclamation is: Jesus is the Son of God, Jesus is the Christ, it is offensive to many. It demands an answer. To the Jew, it is a stumbling block. To the Muslim, it is blasphemy. To the atheist, it is mythology. To those who are perishing, it is folly. Proclaiming that Jesus is the Son of God is proclaiming that God saves sinners through Jesus who is the 2^nd person of the Trinity, truly God and truly man, co-equal, co-eternal, of the same nature and essence. Proclaiming that Jesus is the Christ is proclaiming that the Almighty Creator and Sustainer of all things also condescended and became a man, Jesus, who walked in our world, who – in his humanity – obeyed God, resisted temptation, fulfilled all righteousness, died an atoning death, was buried and on the third day he rose again by the power of God, to the glory of God, and that life can only be found through him; it is proclaiming that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life!

Saul’s last words before his conversion were: “Who are you, Lord?” (5). His first words after conversion were: Jesus is the Son of God! (20). That was the foundation of his faith and ministry. Paul reasoned with people, though his goal was not to convert them by his reasoning. He says it straight to the Corinthian church (1 Cor 2): I did not come proclaiming to you the testimony with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. He trusted the Spirit and the power of God to do the work of transformation when he proclaimed that Jesus is the Son of God, praying that the message would lead them to ponder the truth, and eventually lead them to repentance, and to life with Christ.

In the same way, like Saul, we must not trust our wisdom or eloquence or arguments; but we must proclaim that Jesus is the Son of God, that he is the Christ, and trust the Spirit of God to give life. People still demand signs; nations still seek wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block and a folly to many, but to those who are called, Jews or Greeks, men or women, locals or foreigners, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. In the words of Konrad Adenauer, the German Chancellor after WWII, who is credited with bringing West Germany on the world stage, such words having been reported by Billy Graham when he visited him[ii]: “Mr. Graham, what is the most important thing in the world? The resurrection of Jesus Christ. If Jesus Christ is alive, then there is hope for the world. If Jesus Christ is in the grave, then I don’t see the slightest glimmer of hope on the horizon.” Brothers and sisters: our gospel proclamation should be urgent and immediate, and a reflection of our transformation by the grace of God and the work of his Son, from death to life. As members of one body we have peace, are being built up, can walk in the fear of the Lord, in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and trust God for the multiplication. Our message is declaring to the world that there is hope – the only hope – and his name is Jesus, the Christ, who will save his people from their sin. Receive the Son, and you will also receive the Father and have fellowship with him and with his children. For outside of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, crucified and risen from the dead, there is no other hope for mankind. Go and proclaim with boldness that Jesus is the Son of God.

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[i] Rebecca McLaughlin. 10 Questions Every Teen Should Ask (and Answer) about Christianity. Crossway, 2021.

[ii] https://billygraham.org/devotions/what-is-most-important